Owaisi calls Pakistan ISIS successors, says Pakistan can't match India's defence might

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi strongly condemned Pakistan following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 civilians. Owaisi, addressing a public meeting in Prabhani, Maharashtra, remarked that Pakistan is "half a century behind" India in terms of military and economic development. He emphasized that Pakistan’s budget is smaller than India's military budget, pointing out the significant disparity between the two nations in terms of resources and capabilities.

Owaisi directly addressed threats from Pakistani leaders, who had warned India of nuclear retaliation following the Pahalgam attack. He responded by asserting that "if you kill innocent people in another country, no one will remain silent." The AIMIM chief dismissed Pakistan's claims of possessing nuclear weapons, emphasizing that their rhetoric about nuclear threats holds little weight against India’s stronger military and economic power. He also criticized the attack's brutality, where terrorists questioned the religion of the victims before killing them, labeling the attackers as "worse than the Khawarij" and likening their actions to ISIS.

Further, Owaisi highlighted that the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack were from The Resistance Front (TRF), an affiliate of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He noted the longstanding issue of terrorism originating from Pakistan, with the nation allegedly training terrorists for years to target India. He also suggested that international law allows India to take actions such as blocking Pakistan's air force or using ethical hackers to combat online threats from the country.

In his comments on Kashmir, Owaisi reiterated that Kashmir is an integral part of India, a sentiment that he believes should be reflected in the treatment of Kashmiris. He defended the local population against accusations of complicity in the attack, noting that a Kashmiri man had sacrificed his life to save an injured child during the incident. He urged the central government to embrace Kashmiris as part of the Indian nation, stressing that their loyalty should not be questioned.

Finally, Owaisi criticized political leaders, including Nitish Kumar and Ajit Pawar, for supporting the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which he opposed. He called for a nationwide protest against the bill, urging participation in the "Batti Gul" program on April 30. He accused these leaders of betraying the Muslim community and secular values by backing the amendment, signaling that their actions would not be forgotten by Muslims and secular-minded individuals across the country.