Did Pakistan orchestrate Pahalgam massacre? Attack days after Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir's provocation, he said...

Is Pakistan behind the Pahalgam terrorist attack, in which 26 people, all civilians, were killed on Tuesday? This question has been raised considering the timing of the attack. Analysts and political experts are confused over the fact that the heinous attack came a few days after Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir declared that Jammu and Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan. He also defended the two-nation theory floated by Muhammad Ali Jinnah way back in 1940. Asim Munir went to the extent of saying that Hindus and Muslims are two different nations and they can not live together. 

Addressing a conclave of Overseas Pakistanis in Islamabad on Wednesday, April 16, Gen Munir reiterated that Pakistan would continue to stand by the Kashmiri people in the “struggle against the Indian occupation.” He said, "It was our jugular vein, it is our jugular vein, we will not forget it."

Rejecting the claim of the Pakistan Army Chief, India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal asked "how can anything foreign be in a jugular vein." He said, "This (Jammu and Kashmir) is a Union territory of India. Its only relationship with Pakistan is the vacation of illegally occupied territories by that country."

To many commentators in India, General Munir's comment is clear evidence of the fact that the Pahalgam terror attack was sponsored and orchestrated by the Pakistan Army. 

General Munir's comment is also analysed in light of the nature and modus operandi of the terrorists. Pakistan Army chief said in the conclave, "You have to tell Pakistan's story to your children so that they don’t forget that our forefathers thought we were different from Hindus in every possible aspect of life."  He added further, "Our religions are different, our customs are different, our traditions are different, our thoughts are different, our ambitions are different. That was the foundation of the two-nation theory that was laid there. We are two nations, we are not one nation." 

The behavior of the terrorists reflects what General Munir said. According to the Indian Express, the terrorists asked for the name of their victims before killing them. They went to the extent of asking one of the victims to recite the Islamic verse of "kalma" and opened fire after he had failed to do so. Analysts believe it reflects what the Pakistan Army chief said about the Hindu-Muslim differences. It is clear that the terrorists picked Hindus and killed them for not being Muslim. 

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khwaja Asif claimed Wednesday that Pakistan had nothing to do with the incident in which 26 people, were killed. 

Islamabad must be asked why the terrorist attack was carried out only a few days after its army chief said that Kashmir was the "jugular vein" of Pakistan. He should also explain why he provoked the attackers by saying that the Hindus and the Muslims were different and they could not live together.