'The only difference is...': Former US official compares Pak Army chief Asim Munir to Osama Bin Laden

Rubin told ANI, "The only difference between Osama Bin Laden and Asim Munir is that Osama Bin Laden lived in a cave and Asim Munir lives in a palace, but beyond that, the two are the same, and their end should also be the same."

Borrowing the 'lipstick on a pig' phase, Rubin said there should be no attempt to showcase that the attack was a kind of any "spontaneous action".

"As for the timing, just as there was a terrorist attack when Bill Clinton went to India, so too does it seem that Pakistan wants to draw attention away from Vice President JD Vance's trip to India," he added.

Just days ago, Munir's remark on two nation theory went viral after the Pakistan Army chief stated the forefathers who favoured the bifurcation of India in 1947 had realised the distinction between Hindus and Muslims.

"Our forefathers believed that we were different from 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-nation theory. It was laid on the belief that we are two nations, not one," said General Munir.

"You must tell this to your children so that they never forget the story of Pakistan," he said and added, "Our forefathers made immense sacrifices, and we too, have sacrificed a lot for the creation of this country... My dear brothers and sisters, and sons and daughters, please do not forget this story."

Modi promises retaliation 

The terrorists and their backers will pay unimaginable costs for the attack on innocent tourists in Kashmir's Pahalgam, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

Addressing a rally in Bihar's Madhubani, Modi said: "From the soil of Bihar I tell the whole world that India will identify them and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the end of the earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished."

"Every effort will be made to ensure justice is done," he said, adding that the entire country is grieving the merciless killings.

India's strong response to Pakistan

The Indian Government on Wednesday evening suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan indefinitely as a part of some strict measures taken against Islamabad over the "cross-border linkages" that emerged during the investigation into the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack, which saw the death of 26 tourists, mostly Hindus, including a foreign national.

The decisions were taken at the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CCS is the country's highest decision-making body on national security.

Key decisions by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)

1. The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.

2. The Integrated Check Post at the Attari-Wagah border will be closed with immediate effect. "Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before 01 May 2025," Misri said.

3. Pakistani nationals, henceforth, will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas.Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. Any Pakistani national currently in India under an SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India, he said.

4. The Defence/Military, Naval and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata. They have a week to leave India. India will also be withdrawing its own Defence/Navy/Air Advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled. Five support staff of the Service Advisors will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions.

5. The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be effected by 1 May 2025.

Misri also announced that, "The CCS reviewed the overall security situation and directed all forces to maintain high vigil. It resolved that the perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice and their sponsors held to account. As with the recent extradition of Tahawwur Rana, India will be unrelenting in the pursuit of those who have committed acts of terror, or conspired to make them possible."