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• Reiterates support for Kashmir in address to AJK Assembly, joins state PM and CDF to pay respects at Martyrs’ Monument
• Any aggression along LoC to be met with ‘swift and befitting response’, Field Marshal Munir warns
MUZAFFARABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday accused India of using proxies to revive terrorism in Pakistan after its humiliating defeat in last year’s military conflict, and warned that peace in the region would remain elusive unless New Delhi abandoned its “aggressive, expansionist and hegemonic ambitions”.
Addressing the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day, he declared that Pakistan desired peace, but only on the basis of equality and justice.
“Whatever front India opens, and whatever language it chooses to speak, Pakistan will respond on the same front and in the same language in a manner it will never forget,” he said.
The prime minister had arrived in Muzaffarabad to reiterate Pakistan’s unflinching support for Kashmiris battling India for their internationally recognised right to self-determination on Kashmir Solidarity Day, observed annually since 1990.
He and AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore then drove to the nearby Martyrs’ Monument, where they were joined by Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir. They laid floral wreaths at the monument, after which the CDF met a select group of Kashmiri notables at a nearby military installation.
PM Shehbaz and his AJK counterpart then proceeded to the Assembly to attend the session, which was presided over by Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar.
“India has intensified terrorism inside Pakistan through puppets after its humiliating defeat… By Allah’s blessings, Pakistan’s armed forces and security agencies will deal with them in the same way as Indian aircraft were dealt with during Marka-i-Haq,” the prime minister said.
He said that Pakistan’s success in Marka-i-Haq was not only a military achievement but also a victory for the Kashmir cause and the sacrifices of the Kashmiri people. “This battle revived the Kashmir cause globally and buried India’s false narrative on
the diplomatic front,” he said, thanking Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar for “tireless diplomatic efforts”.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s long-standing position on Kashmir, PM Shehbaz said the dispute could only be resolved in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people and the UN Security Council resolutions.
“India has no option other than this,” he said, reiterating that Pakistan would continue to support Kashmiris until they were granted their right to self-determination.
Recalling Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s description of Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein”, the prime minister said this remained the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy.
Paying tribute to leaders and workers of the freedom movement, he named figures including Burhan Wani, Syed Ali Geelani, Asiya Andrabi, Yasin Malik and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and said: “Every Kashmiri — men, women, children, journalists — deserves our salute.”
On development, PM Shehbaz said education, health and infrastructure development in AJK were priorities and assured continued federal support regardless of which party was in power in the territory. He announced an increase in the monthly stipend for the post-1989 refugees from occupied Kashmir from Rs3,500 to Rs6,000 per head.
He said Danish Schools were being constructed rapidly in AJK and announced plans for a Daanish University in Islamabad focusing on modern technology, IT, artificial intelligence and scientific research, with admissions on merit for students from across Pakistan, including AJK. A campus of the university would also be established in Muzaffarabad.
PM Shehbaz also announced funding for water supply schemes, hydropower projects, universities in Kotli and Bagh, and said an Asaan Khidmat Centre similar to the one in Islamabad would soon be set up in Muzaffarabad.
AJK PM Rathore also spoke, expressing gratitude to the people, government and the armed forces of Pakistan for their unwavering support to the Kashmiris’ just cause. “On the one hand, there is India that has turned Kashmir into a jail, and then there is Pakistan, which is sensitive to even the smallest of our difficulties,” he said.
COAS vows swift response
Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and CDF Field Marshal Asim Munir warned that any aggression along the Line of Control would be met with a “swift and befitting response”, asserting that Pakistan’s armed forces remained fully prepared to counter both conventional and hybrid threats.
The remarks cane during his visit to forward areas along the LoC, which splits the disputed Himalayan region between nuclear armed Pakistan and India, on Kashmir Solidarity Day.
According to a statement issued by ISPR, Field Marshal Munir interacted with troops deployed on the frontlines and reviewed their operational preparedness.
He commended their high morale and professionalism despite challenging conditions, and stressed the importance of maintaining constant vigilance to deter any hostile action.
During the visit, CDF Munir also reviewed the operational readiness of troops deployed in the region and underscored the need for sustained preparedness to effectively respond to evolving security challenges.
Earlier, in Muzaffarabad, during an interaction with local notables and veterans, the army chief reiterated Pakistan’s political, moral and diplomatic support for the people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, saying that Indian policies had failed to suppress the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination.
He said that persistent human rights violations and what he described as Hindutva-driven excesses in the Indian occupied territory had not weakened the resolve of the Kashmiri people.
He reaffirmed that Pakistan would continue to highlight the Kashmir issue at relevant international forums until a just resolution was achieved in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2026
