Editorial with Sujit Nair | What Makes Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir Insecure? | India

[00:00:00] Namaskar! Welcome to another episode of Editorial. Pakistan sponsored attack in Pahlkam, Kashmir. We retaliated day before yesterday.

[00:00:16] Today, let us talk about one very important aspect of this entire story and that is the fact that when we discuss a particular situation, when we are in conflict, when we engage with somebody or something,

[00:00:40] it is very important we deep dive and understand who that somebody is and why that somebody is doing what he or she is doing. It is very important. What we are going to try and do today is try and deep dive into Pakistan's mind and figure out what exactly is happening there.

[00:01:06] Figure out why people are behaving the way they are. I am talking about the leaders, I am not talking about the people of Pakistan, I am talking about the leaders of Pakistan. We will figure out why they are behaving the way they are. Let's get right into the show. So like I said, 22nd of April was a very emotional day for any Indian, any Indian, wherever he or she comes from.

[00:01:33] Our brothers were killed. Young men, young husbands, fathers of little children, they were killed in Pahlkam, in Jammu and Kashmir. It hurt every Indian. Every Indian was moved and they were all emotional.

[00:02:00] 7th, India retaliated. India attacked those terrorist camps in Pakistan and we were emotional again. Every Indian was happy in some corner of his or her heart. Well a lot of us said, hey, war is not the right thing, war is never a solution, which is right also. I am not disputing that.

[00:02:23] I completely agree, war is never a solution. And non-violence is what India preached practices. So while we all said, a lot of us said, but the fact still remains, somewhere now in our heart we were happy that the terrorist and their sponsor were taught a lesson.

[00:02:46] Now let's move further. The topic of my today's editorial. Let's try and read Pakistan's mind. And let's try and read Pakistan's mind through their current leader, through a person's eyes who is actually running Pakistan today. And that is not Shabazz Sharif. Let's be very clear, that is not Shabazz Sharif.

[00:03:15] That is this man. This man you see on your screen, Asif Munir. Asif Munir is the person who runs Pakistan today. And as usual, it is always the military head who has been running Pakistan. We are going to look at what Pakistan and when I say Pakistan, I want to emphasize the fact that I am not talking about a common Pakistani.

[00:03:42] Because I don't think a common Pakistani thinks any different to a common Hindustani. I think we more or less think the same and we more or less are busy fending for ourselves, our families. I am talking about the Pakistani leadership. And I am talking about the situation currently the

[00:04:05] Pakistani leadership is facing. So let's look at Pakistan from Asif Munir's point of view. Pakistan's story. Pakistan's story is not forgotten. Well our forefathers thought that we are different from the Hindus in every possible aspect of life. Our religion is different, our customs are different, our traditions are different, our thoughts are different, our ambitions are different. That was the foundation of the two nations

[00:04:34] theory that was laid there. Please don't forget the story of Pakistan. And don't forget to narrate the story of Pakistan to your next generation. So that they are bound with Pakistan. It never weakens. This is one speech that Asif Munir gave to some non-resident Pakistanis when they were in some function.

[00:04:58] And Asif Munir was speaking like the Prime Minister or like the leader of the country. In fact, the Prime Minister was sitting in one kona and listening to him clapping whenever he made speeches. And it was Mr. Asif Munir or whatever, Colonel, General Asif Munir who was actually talking about the future of Pakistan, the investments of Pakistan. Are you military? Military man talking about investments and future

[00:05:25] and history and geography and all? Well, I have never seen it because it doesn't happen in my country. It doesn't happen in my country. But I found it very strange. And the way he was speaking, it was very, very clear with his body language that he showed the world who leads a Pakistan, who runs a Pakistan. It is not that Prime Minister who was sitting in one kona who is actually running

[00:05:53] Pakistan. But it was this man who is running Pakistan. Because at one point in time, when Imran Khan actually started looking, sounding, behaving like a Prime Minister, he was picked up by this very man, by this very man and put behind bars. Like normally their Prime Ministers are. I was told that

[00:06:18] Imran Khan was beaten. He was beaten up. He was manhandled in the jail. This is what the report says. I don't know how true it is. I don't know how false it is. Not that it matters to our today's editorial. Okay. Now, like I said, the first thing that is interesting in what he said, which gives us an insight

[00:06:44] on what Pakistan is thinking, is he spoke about a military man, spoke about the difference between Muslims and Hindus. Like I told you in my previous editorial, a military man talking about Hindu, Muslim and all. I find it strange because that is not the topic of his interest. Neither is it his area of core competency. If at all a politician says, I can understand. A military man saying it. But

[00:07:14] then, like I told you in my last editorial, it is necessary for him is because unless and until there is a divide between the Hindus and the Muslims, unless and until their Muslims sees Hindu as an enemy and therefore India as an enemy, he has no identity. He is not relevant. Absolutely irrelevant.

[00:07:36] Asim Munir, who will ask? Who will ask? His relevance will be that of a nobody. So, who will ask? So, to that extent, one understand why he is so vehemently talking about Muslims, Islam and why they are different, why they are better, why Hindus are different, why Muslims are different and so on and so forth. You won't find that in the Indian army. You won't find our generals talking about it.

[00:08:06] Chalo. That is something that I have spoken to you before. Now, let me talk on subjects which are more relevant. I want to draw your attention to this particular statement he made. Share this. Whatever little bit of the terrorism which is taking place in the country and the people say and the people they are mostly propagating that with this kind of security situation there won't be any

[00:08:34] investment coming to Pakistan. Well, to them, they must hear me very clearly now. You think terrorists, they can take away the destiny of the country from us. If this great Pakistani nation and the Pakistani armed forces, if 1.3 million Indian army with all their wherewithal, if they cannot intimidate us and they

[00:09:03] cannot coerce us, these terrorists can subdue the armed forces of Pakistan. Now, imagine, imagine, we also have seen and are seeing insurgencies within our borders. We are seeing. But have you ever seen a general, a general, the head of Indian army, the head of Indian armed force go and say that listen, you know what,

[00:09:31] you know this Kashmiri terrorist or pro-Khalistani terrorist cannot subdue our armed forces, cannot subdue our country. The armed forces talks about enemies outside of the border. A terrorist subduing a country? Pakistan will not fall is what he says.

[00:09:58] Pakistan will not fall. What he is trying to say is the worry that he actually has in his mind. This is what is worrying Pakistan and this is what is worrying that military man. What is worrying him is somewhere down the line, the militants in Baluchistan are actually giving him nightmares.

[00:10:28] The military in Baluchistan are actually subduing the armed forces of Pakistan. Pakistan is worried. That's what's running in their mind.

[00:10:50] And that's why a military general stands in a non-resident Pakistani forum and says, nobody will take away my Pakistan. Nobody will take away Pakistan. These insurgents, 5,500 people cannot subdue Pakistani army when Indian armed forces cannot subdue Pakistani army.

[00:11:09] Do you think you will ever say? Would you ever hear a general of India say that some local nexalites or local insurgents will subdue India or subdue Indian army or subdue or India will not fall because of some nexalites in Gadachiroli or some pro-Khalistani militants in Punjab or pre-militants in Kashmir?

[00:11:34] Do you think we will ever hear a general speak? We don't because it's too insignificant for Indian army. Indian army knows that some nexalites or some insurgents cannot harm us. The point that I am trying to say is the reality is different. The point that I am trying to say is what not me but their former prime minister, Mr. Abbasi had said.

[00:12:01] Their former prime minister, Abbasi was the prime minister of Pakistan from 2017 to 2018. Shahid Abbasi. Shahid Abbasi says that, in fact, says kya? He challenged the Pakistani army head Asim Munir narrative that 1,500 people are responsible for the unrest of Balochistan. Abbasi said, whatever Asim Munir may say, it is his opinion.

[00:12:26] I am only stating what I saw. He says it's a nightmare. Especially after nightfall, Balochistan is completely out of control. He says this is not a breakdown of law and order. It is a sign of the state fading authority. He says there is no state in Balochistan. There is no state. What is this problem? You know what the problem is? The problem is, it is not like Pakistan has some 30 provinces and Balochistan is one of them and there is a problem there.

[00:12:56] India, on the other hand, there is 28 states and 8 union territories. That is how we are. These people put together four provinces. Five actually. The provinces would be Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khaybar, Pakhtunwa and the fifth one is the controversial one. That is the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Gilgit-Baltistan.

[00:13:21] So five provinces, five provinces, they have a huge problem with Balochistan. They have a huge problem with Khaybar, Pakhtunwa and they are not able to manage it. It is slipping away from their hands and people are getting aware of this fact.

[00:13:45] And that is why people of Pakistan are losing their faith in the army. And because they are losing the faith in the army is why the army general is standing there and says that please don't break the bond. Please don't teach your son, grandson, great-grandson and all about two nation theory where Hindus are different, Muslims are different.

[00:14:09] And he says, you know, Pakistan will not fall. Balochistan is our whatever crown and glory or whatever words he used. And Balochistan, you know, they can't subdue. 1500 people cannot subdue. What 1500 people? I am not asking his own former prime minister. Shahid Abbas is asking it. So there is a problem. There is absolute distrust.

[00:14:32] People are not currently looking at army the way they were at one point in time or they have been since they got independence. This army general is not very sure whether people are with him. Therefore, he is trying to re-emphasize. He is trying to be a politician more and army general less. Now, before a lot of you may write down and say, India is not different. India is not insurgency. Doesn't it happen in India? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have our own problem.

[00:15:01] I am not disputing the fact. I am not disputing the fact. But the way India is trying to resolve our problem versus the way Pakistan is trying to resolve our problem, there is a difference. You see, look at our Jammu and Kashmir. And look at the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Look at the difference in our economy.

[00:15:25] I mean, Jammu and Kashmir, its GDP is growing at a rate which is faster than average India. That's the economic growth. A youth in Jammu and Kashmir currently is doing well. He has a fairly decent job, an opportunity to make money. His schools, his children are going to a fairly decent school.

[00:15:50] He's got fantastic roads, electricity 24 by 7, good life and a fairly and rapidly developing city that he is staying in, state that he is staying in. That's the difference. Bolochistan, the development is in minus. They are in negative.

[00:16:17] Overall, Pakistan is in doldrums with a 2.2% GDP growth. Bolochistan would be in minus. Absolutely lack of development. Now, that's the difference. So, there you don't have growth. You don't, the youth there don't see a future.

[00:16:38] And you have military coming and trying to say that, you know, we will beat you up and we will, we will, we will, we will knock you down and we will shoot you down and all of that. That's the only thing that's happening there. So, what do you think is going to happen in Bolochistan? Militancy, insurgency is only going to grow, which it is. Whereas in Kashmir, nobody denies that there is no insurgency. Nobody denies that there are no misguided youth in Kashmir.

[00:17:07] But the fact remains that it is reducing. You see that it is becoming better than what it was possibly in 1990s. In 2000, it was better. In 2010, it was better than what it was in 2000. And in 2024, it is better than what it was 2000. Is it over? No, it is not. Are we saying that everything is fine now we are all back? No, it is not. But we are seeing an improvement. Now, compare that to Bolochistan.

[00:17:37] I am not saying, again, let me tell you for people who may write down and say, listen, you know, what are you talking about? You don't talk about India, but you are talking about Pakistan. I am telling you, yes, I agree. There are problems in India. But you see a resolution inside. There is improvement that is happening. Whereas Bolochistan is going reverse. That's the problem. Khayabar Paktoonva is going reverse. That's the problem.

[00:18:05] Their militants are killing army men every day. They hijacked an entire train. Train cut. Train they hijacked. In their own country, the Bolochistan Liberation Army, the BLA, is almost dreaded. They control that province. Literally. They say they control. I am, again, I am not saying it.

[00:18:33] It is their own former prime minister saying it. He says that armed Boloch rebels are now openly patrolling major highways in the province, set up checkpoints at will, and even seize control of urban areas for hours at a stretch. This is the status of Bolochistan. Now you understand why that military man is standing there and desperately, desperately asking people, you know, bond, come down, don't tell people, you know, that we are,

[00:19:03] we believe in divisive life, we believe in two nation theory, Hindus are different, Muslims are different. You know why he's saying this now? This is the mind of Pakistan management. Pakistan leadership would, at any cost, would want to create problems with India because that is the only way Pakistan leadership, the military leadership can survive. How much ever diplomatic talks we do, how much ever we take this to international forum, this is not going to change till such time

[00:19:33] that the concept of military leadership of Pakistan, the superiority of military leadership in Pakistan is questioned, is tackled with. Till such time that military is going to dominate democracy, Pakistan is going to create insurgency in India, Pakistan is going to continue to create problems in India because that's the only way they will survive. And,

[00:20:01] thanks to the Sky TV network, we also learned one more thing. where their own defense minister said that, you know, at the request of Europe and America, we would train and fund terrorists. Defense minister said, as a country, their mindset was okay to feed and promote and sponsor terrorism. They were okay with that.

[00:20:32] You see their mindset. You see their mindset for economic benefit. They would promote terrorism. The defense minister said it to an international channel. So, the fact remains that this is one insight that we need to be very clear about. And, as Baluchistan is going to blow, and it is going to blow, this is not going to end for Pakistan. This is only going to be worse for Pakistan.

[00:21:02] As Baluchistan grows bigger, the Baluchistan issues grow bigger. As Khyber Pakhtunwa, which we have not touched, Khyber Pakhtunwa is as bad or worse than Baluchistan because Taliban is supporting it. And, Tehrike Taliban, which is the group in Khyber Pakhtunwa, they want Khyber Pakhtunwa as a different state. Baluchistan wants to be a different country. Khyber Pakhtunwa wants to be a different country. In fact, Khyber Pakhtunwa associates themselves with Afghanistan more,

[00:21:32] Pakistan less. Baluchistan says, we are a different country altogether. We don't have anything to do with Pakistan. And the same thing what I spoke to you about BLA, that is Baluchistan Liberation Army in Baluchistan, the same thing is happening with this Tehrike Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunwa. In fact, there too, if you see, according to reports, bombing and shootings, targeting soldiers, police, civilians, the TTP, that is Tehrike Taliban Pakistan,

[00:22:01] killed over 500 people in Khyber Pakhtunwa in 2024 alone. The Pakistani army efforts to crush them have failed. And some areas of TTP, that is, again, Tehrike Taliban Pakistan, runs its own court and patrols its own roads, acting like a shadow government. This loss of control in stark warning for Pakistan cannot secure its own territory, a critical flaw

[00:22:30] in potential conflict. Now, look at the problem. For people who would ask, India, many of you are like, look at the difference. Look at the difference. We are tackling our own issue, but here, it's a different level. And the only way they can still stay in power, where the military man, that gentleman, can still wear that uniform and all, and stand there and talk like a politician there,

[00:22:59] is by ensuring that he creates an enemy out of India so that the people, whoever, those people, their attentions are diverted and they focus on fighting with India. Whereas, he can survive. And, they almost are hidden, a curtain is drawn between what is happening in Baluchistan and Khaybar Pakhtunwa. That is the mind of Pakistan's leadership. Now, a lot of you may ask,

[00:23:29] okay, the army must have lost control over some provinces, two provinces specifically. And, okay, to that extent, one has proof. But, how am I saying that the people of Pakistan has lost, at least had lost faith in the army? You see, let me give you, a logic to that. Theori ke insaf, Pakistan Theori ke insaf,

[00:23:57] PTI of Imran Khan was, like I told you before in the editorial, Imran Khan was establishing himself as a democratic leader. This same Asim Munir, like I told you, picked him and put him behind bars on corruption charges. There was an election after that. And, you know what happened in the election? In the election, Tariqa insaf, that is PTI, Pakistani Tariqa insaf, that is Imran Khan's party,

[00:24:27] won the maximum number of votes. They were the most popular political party in Pakistan. With all the juggalry that military could do, they still were the most popular party in Pakistan. Mind you, this was the same Imran Khan who this same Asim Munir put behind bars. And yet, he was the most popular person. Which means what? Which means that people of Pakistan were siding Imran Khan

[00:24:56] and not this Asim Munir. Which means people of Pakistan were siding democratically elected whatever party, president or party than the military. Isn't that logic? and that's precisely why people like Asim Munir, generals like Asim Munir had to stand in his full uniform in front of such forum, speak, behave like a politician,

[00:25:26] plead like a politician so that he could win back his credibility in his country and possibly become relevant once again by creating an enemy out of India and be relevant in the eyes of his people. That's the mindset that I have been trying to talk to you about. The reason I wanted to do this editorial and talk to you about

[00:25:56] deep diving into the Pakistan leadership's mind. Leadership's mind, I am not talking about a Pakistani mind, but the mind of Pakistan leadership is to understand what our real problem is. My submission is our real problem are not people of Pakistan. They are not a problem at all. Our problems are not their film stars or their singers or their cricketers. They are not

[00:26:25] our problems. Our problem are people like Asim Munir, those uniformed officers who sits there either in the power seat and runs the country those dictators or people like Asim Munir who sits behind and makes a puppet prime minister run the country. They are our problem. The military superiority in

[00:26:56] Pakistan is our problem because the military of Pakistan is unable to handle their own internal insurgency. So they have to put a veil over it. While they put a veil over Khybar Pakhtunva, while they put a veil over Baluchistan, they will point their finger towards us as their enemy and to create that animosity they are going to continue. They are going to continue their ISI and all their allied wing, they are going to

[00:27:26] continue spreading insurgency in our country. They are going to continue to sponsor terrorism in our country and that is what we need to be mindful of. My submission is that India should try our level best, put all our might to ensure that there is a democratically elected political party in place in Pakistan. A democratically elected political party that runs Pakistan.

[00:27:56] At least that democratically elected party will be more accountable to the people of Pakistan to the rest of the world than a military rule. Now I am again not saying that we are a democratically elected party, we have a democratically elected party, so it is not that we have major accountability and we have major transparency and all that. I am not claiming any of those, but we are far better than Pakistan for sure. So possibly the answer to

[00:28:26] this problem of insurgency and this constant insurgency is a good, powerful, stable, elected government in Pakistan. This is the point I wanted to make and that is why I thought I should come with this presentation in front of you today and till I see you next time. That's tomorrow at 10. Namaskar.