Asim Munir Called Pakistan's Response To Op Sindoor ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’, Claims Jaish Commander

Last Updated:February 08, 2026, 09:51 IST

Referring to the period following Operation Sindoor, the Jaish commander said that Pakistan’s military leadership had portrayed the confrontation with India as a religious war.

A senior commander of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed has alleged that Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir framed Islamabad’s response to India’s Operation Sindoor as “Ghazwa-e-Hind", an extremist concept associated with violent jihad and the imposition of Islamic rule under Sharia.

The claim was made by Jaish commander Ilyas Kashmiri during a speech delivered at a gathering of militants in Rawalkot, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, on February 5. The event reportedly included newly inducted recruits.

Referring to the period following Operation Sindoor, Kashmiri told the audience that Pakistan’s military leadership had portrayed the confrontation with India as a religious war.

Recounting the escalation, he claimed the conflict was formally given a jihadist framing by the country’s top military command.

“When the fighting began, weapons were drawn, fighter jets confronted each other, tanks came face to face, and the commander announced that this was Ghazwat-ul-Hind, this was Bunyan al-Marsoos," Kashmiri said, according to a recording of the speech.

He went on to reiterate Jaish-e-Mohammed’s ideological position, declaring jihad to be the group’s defining purpose regardless of the political climate in Pakistan.

“Our name, our identity and our motto is jihad. Whether the government supported us or not, jihad remained our path. Jihad is our objective, and we will continue it to ‘liberate’ Kashmir," he said.

Security analysts view the Rawalkot address as part of a broader pattern in which leaders of Pakistan-based terror groups have increasingly made public statements linking state institutions to extremist narratives.

In recent months, several such figures have openly glorified jihad and portrayed tensions with India in religious terms at rallies held inside Pakistan, often before large audiences.

India has consistently maintained that such public displays, including the presence of armed cadres at gatherings and funerals, underscore the support structure available to UN-designated terrorist organisations operating from Pakistani soil.

Operation Sindoor was launched by India in May 2025 following the April Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians.

The Indian government has said the operation targeted terror infrastructure, including training camps, launch pads and command centres in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, describing the strikes as precise and proportionate measures aimed at dismantling terror networks responsible for attacks on Indian soil.

News world Asim Munir Called Pakistan's Response To Op Sindoor ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’, Claims Jaish Commander

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