Senior BJP leader and Member of Parliament Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a scathing attack on Pakistan’s political and military structure during his address to the Indian diaspora in London, calling the country “undemocratic” and run by an “unelectable, unaccountable” military elite. He also criticized Pakistan’s promotion of General Asim Munir to Field Marshal despite military setbacks, drawing parallels with former autocratic rulers like Ayub Khan and General Musharraf.
Leading an all-party Indian delegation to the United Kingdom, Prasad highlighted how Pakistan’s armed forces have historically seized power and sidelined democratic institutions. “Jinnah created Pakistan, but it became a generals’ shop,” Prasad remarked. “Leaders make a nation. In Pakistan, the army made the nation for itself.”
Referring to General Munir, Prasad said, “A man who was defeated in the field has become a Field Marshal — that says everything.” He cited historical precedents such as Field Marshal Ayub Khan, who led Pakistan for a decade after staging a military coup in 1958.
Prasad detailed India’s recent military operation — Operation Sindoor — launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people. Indian forces targeted terrorist camps in Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK), eliminating over 100 terrorists linked to groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. He emphasized that the strikes targeted only terrorist infrastructure, avoiding civilian casualties.
“We informed the Pakistani authorities afterwards — raat mein aapki pitai ki hai, lekin sirf terrorist camps pe,” said Prasad, adding that when Pakistan retaliated with missile attacks, India’s air defense systems successfully neutralized them.
Touching on global terrorism, Prasad referenced Osama bin Laden’s capture in Pakistan and the hijacking of IC-814 to release Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar. He said several terrorists linked to these events, including Azhar’s family members, were eliminated during Operation Sindoor.
“Terrorism is a global cancer,” he stressed, while underlining India’s restraint and history of seeking peaceful relations. “India has never been an aggressor. Whether it was Nehru, Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, or Modi, we always reached out for peace — and we always got terrorism in return.”
Prasad also recounted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts at diplomacy, including inviting then-Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif to his 2014 swearing-in and making an unscheduled stopover in Pakistan for Sharif’s grandson’s wedding. He lamented that despite such goodwill, India suffered attacks in Uri, Pulwama, and recently, Pahalgam.
The delegation accompanying Prasad includes BJP MP Daggubati Purandeswari, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress MPs Ghulam Ali Khatana and Amar Singh, BJP’s Samik Bhattacharya, former Union Minister MJ Akbar, and former diplomat Pankaj Saran. Their visit is part of India’s global outreach campaign to mobilize international support against terrorism.
Prasad concluded by urging the global community to recognize the threat posed by Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and stand united against extremist forces.
