Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday said South Asia is increasingly weary of India’s hegemonic and extremist Hindutva ideology.
Addressing the graduating officers of the National Security and War Course at Islamabad’s National Defense University (NDU), he noted that India’s inability to achieve its stated military objectives during Operation Sindoor—and the subsequent attempt to rationalize this shortfall through convoluted logic—spoke volumes about Delhi’s lack of operational readiness and strategic foresight.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) quoted him as slamming insinuations regarding external support in Pakistan’s successful Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, describing them as irresponsible and factually incorrect. Rather, he said, they reflected a chronic reluctance to acknowledge indigenous capability and institutional resilience developed over decades of strategic prudence.
Naming other states as participants in the purely bilateral military conflagration is also a shoddy attempt at playing camp politics and desperately trying that India remains the beneficiary of larger geopolitical contestation as the so-called net security provider in a region, which is getting increasingly weary of its hegemonic and extremist Hindutva ideology, he added.
In contrast to India’s strategic behavior resting on parochial self-alignment, said the field marshal, Pakistan has forged lasting partnerships based on principled diplomacy, anchored in mutual respect and peace, establishing itself to be a stabilizer in the region. He reiterated Pakistan’s principled stance that any misadventure or attempts to undermine Pakistan’s sovereignty or violation of territorial integrity would continue to be reflexively met with a swift and resolute response without any constraints or inhibitions.
Any attempt to target our population centers, military bases, economic hubs and ports would instantly invoke a “deeply hurting and more than reciprocal response.” The onus of escalation will squarely lie on the strategically blind arrogant aggressor who fails to see the grave repercussions of such provocative actions against a sovereign nuclear state.
The COAS noted that wars were not won through media rhetoric, imported fancy hardware, or political sloganeering, but through faith, professional competence, operational clarity, institutional strength and national resolve.
In his address, the Army chief highlighted the evolving character of warfare and underscored the centrality of mental preparedness, operational clarity, and institutional professionalism in navigating complex strategic issues. He lauded the role of premier institutions like NDU in enhancing civil-military synergy and nurturing future leadership capable of mitigating hybrid, conventional, and sub-conventional threats with poise and resolve.
He concluded by expressing full confidence in the professionalism, morale, and readiness of the battle hardened Armed Forces of Pakistan and urged the graduating officers to remain steadfast in the values of integrity, selfless service, and unwavering commitment to the nation.