Washington DC [US], August 11 (ANI): Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has, during his ongoing visit to the United States, said that Islamabad will defend its water rights 'at all costs' if India proceeds with dam construction on the Indus River.

Further Munir repeated his anti-India rhetoric describing Kashmir as Pakistan's 'jugular vein' stating that it is not India's internal matter but an unresolved international issue, Pakistan-based media outlet ARY News reported on Monday.

'We will wait for India to build a dam, and when they do so, we will destroy it,' Munir told members of the Pakistani-American community in Tampa, Florida, according to a report published today in The Dawn.

At the black-tie dinner in Washington, DC, hosted by Adnan Asad, Pakistan's honorary consul in Tampa, Munir told the gathering that the Indus River 'is not the Indians' family property,' adding that Islamabad has 'no shortage of resources to undo the Indian designs to stop the river,' the Dawn reported.

ARY news cited Munir as condemning 'Indian aggression under Operation Sindoor,' and termed it a grave violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.

Further, Munir was quoted by ARY News as saying that 'A bilateral conflict due to any mistake by India would be a huge blunder,' Stating that Pakistan's response had successfully prevented a wider conflict, Munir also thanked US President Donald Trump for his role in defusing tensions between the two countries.

Ahead of the Pahalgam attack, India had strongly rebutted Pakistan Army Chief General Munir's remarks describing Kashmir as Pakistan's 'jugular vein,' calling the claim baseless and asserting that the only relationship Pakistan has with Kashmir is to vacate the territory it occupies illegally.

Responding to questions at a media briefing on April 17 in New Delhi, India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory of India and dismissed Munir's comments as unfounded. The MEA spokesperson asked how 'anything foreign' could be in a country's jugular vein and reiterated that Pakistan's role with respect to Kashmir is limited to vacating the regions it illegaly occupies.

'How can anything foreign be in a jugular vein? This is a union territory of India. Its only relationship with Pakistan is the vacation of illegally occupied territories by that country...' Jaiswal had said in the MEA briefing on April 17 this year.

India has consistently maintained that the ceasefire was achieved through talks between the Indian and Pakistani militaries and not through US mediation.

Meanwhile, Munir recently visited two US cities over the weekend and flew to Brussels on Sunday after completing his second high-profile trip to the United States in less than two months. Like his previous visit, he engaged with political and military leadership in the host country, Dawn reported.

In Tampa, the Pakistan army chief attended the US Central Command Centcom change of command ceremony. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations ISPR, his engagements included the retirement ceremony of General Michael E Kurilla, Commander of CENTCOM, and the change of command where Admiral Brad Cooper assumed charge.

Dawn quoted ISPR as saying that Field Marshal Munir praised General Kurilla's 'exemplary leadership and invaluable contributions in strengthening Pakistan-US military relations' and expressed confidence that Admiral Cooper 'would take this partnership forward to address shared security challenges'.

On the sidelines of the ceremony, Field Marshal Munir met US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and chiefs of defence from other friendly countries. He invited General Caine to visit Pakistan and reaffirmed Islamabad's role as a key regional security stakeholder, Dawn reported. (ANI)