‘Pakistan is a banana republic with a nuclear bomb’: Ex-RAW chief Vikram Sood
Former RAW chief Vikram Sood criticized Pakistan, labelling it a banana republic and its army chief a ‘Jihadi General’.
Former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Vikram Sood described Pakistan as a "banana republic" and labelled its army chief a “Jihadi General” during an interview with ANI. He remarked that the Pakistani military is made up of ideologically driven officers who are intent on exerting control over others.
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The former spymaster said, “He (Asim Munir) is an Islamic Jihadi General. 'Hindus and Muslims cannot live together', can you imagine an Indian General speaking like this? Never. Ours are professional officers; they are ideological officers. Their ideology is to rule, and their definitions of victory and defeat are different. It is a victory for them if they did not give up our land, even though people died.”
When asked about the drama over the trophy at the Asia Cup 2025, reacting to the reports of Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi taking the trophy with him, Vikram Sood called it a “banana republic reaction”.
"It's hilarious... It'll never happen anywhere in the world. That's a banana republic reaction. That's what we've got as a neighbour. A banana republic with a nuclear weapon," the ex-RAW chief told ANI.
Further, addressing the human rights violations and the public movement in Balochistan, he highlighted the role of the middle class and the lower middle class.
He said, “Balochistan is a long problem... Earlier, the middle class and the lower middle class played no role in the movements. Now it's become middle-class... So it is more dangerous because you've got an educated lot of people. The movement is far more serious than I remember seeing it for the last 20 years.”
"They're (Pakistan) probably looking for protection from the Americans by showcasing their rare earth minerals on a plate. You can spend 20 years trying to find rare earths, yet you may not find it, it's so rare... They will get some money out of it, and some of it will get transferred to the Cayman Islands or Geneva, Zurich, London... That is the level at which they operate normally," the ex-RAW chief said.
Earlier, Josh Bowes, an international geopolitical researcher, highlighted concerns over the human rights violations taking place in Pakistan and the ongoing crisis in Balochistan at the 34th Meeting of the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
(With inputs from ANI)