'You can put lipstick on a pig but...': Former US official likens Pakistan Army chief to Bin Laden after Pahalgam attack

As many as 26 tourists, 25 Indians and one Nepali national, were killed in the terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.

While blaming Islamabad for its alleged role in the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin on Thursday likened Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir to the late Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.

“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,” he told ANI. “It was shocking, but this just goes to show you that you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. You can pretend that Pakistan isn’t a terror sponsor, but it remains a terror sponsor, no matter how much we try to normalise it.”

To put “lipstick on a pig” is a rhetorical expression which is used to convey the message that making superficial changes is a futile attempt to disguise the true nature of  someone.

It is being said that the recent remarks by Munir may have served as a direct provocation for the Pahalgam attack. “Certainly that speech seemed to green light terror. Asim Munir said that Kashmir is the jugular vein. What India now needs to do is to cut Pakistan’s jugular. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts. There are no shortcuts anymore. Asim Munir gave the green light," Rubin told ANI.

The Pakistani army chief recently spoke  about the two-nation theory as he stressed that India and Pakistan are two different nations.  “Our forefathers thought we are different from Hindus in every possible aspect of life. Our religions are 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 that was laid there. We are two nations, we are not one nation," he said while addressing a gathering at Overseas Pakistanis Convention in Islamabad.

Rubin also said the Pahalgam terror attack was very similar to the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, as both incidents targeted civilians.

“That is exactly what went on when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. It was directed specifically against Jews and not only against Jews, but among the most liberal Jews who were most prone to wanting peace and normalcy with the Gaza Strip," said Rubin. “Targeting a vacation resort, middle-class Hindus, it is evident that the Pakistanis are trying the same tactic now. It should be no more successful for Pakistan than it was for Hamas."

In 1995, six foreign tourists were abducted in Pahalgam by the armed group Al-Faran. One was killed, another escaped, and the remaining four were never found. In 2000, 32 people, including 21 Hindu pilgrims, were killed at Nunwan in Pahalgam.