New Delhi, Oct. 31 -- While Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir's oration at the Pakistan Naval Academy on 28 June has drawn considerable media focus, there is a need to assess how much attention India should pay to his utterances. The rabble-rousing tone and toxic India-baiting content of his speech, ill-befitting the occasion - a navy passing-out parade - was a clear sign of insecurity in the face of widespread public criticism of the Pakistan army in general and his promotion in particular.
Notwithstanding the banality of his words, we must recognise that since Field Marshals do not retire, Munir, if he so chooses, will be around for a long time - either as Army Chief or as political puppet master. By harping on Hindu-Muslim schisms and ...