Asim Munir claims Pakistan received ‘divine help’ during Op Sindoor

Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has said the country received “divine help” during its military confrontation with India in May.

Which followed India’s strikes on terror infrastructure under Operation Sindoor. He also urged Afghanistan’s Taliban regime to choose between Pakistan and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claiming that most militants infiltrating into Pakistan are Afghan nationals.

Munir made the remarks at the National Ulema Conference in Islamabad earlier this month, where he also recited verses from the Quran. Referring to the four-day escalation with India, Munir described the conflict as one in which Pakistan’s armed forces experienced “divine intervention”.

“We felt it,” he said.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. The strikes led to intense exchanges between the two sides before an understanding was reached to halt military action on May 10.

Munir also made broader ideological and regional comments, drawing parallels between the creation of Pakistan and the Islamic state established by the Prophet over 1,400 years ago in the Arabian Peninsula. He said that among the world’s 57 Islamic nations, Pakistan had been granted the “honour of being the protectors of Haramain Sharifain”, a reference to Makkah and Madina.

Turning to Afghanistan, Munir accused Afghan nationals of forming the majority of militants crossing into Pakistan and called on the Taliban government to take a clear position. “In the TTP formations coming [into Pakistan], 70 per cent are Afghans,” he said. “Is Afghanistan not spilling the blood of our Pakistani children?”

He reiterated that the Taliban must choose between Pakistan and the TTP.

Munir further said that in an Islamic state, only the state has the authority to declare jihad. “No one can issue a fatwa for jihad without the order, permission and will of those vested with authority,” he said.