Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday that India’s blame game against Pakistan was ‘preposterous’ and that Pakistan has ‘nothing to do’ with the Pahalgam incident. He also repeated the demand for a transparent investigation.
“No cause or objective can justify taking lives of common people,” Dar said at a press conference on Wednesday along with MoFA Spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan and DG ISPR Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, adding that Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms. He also expressed concern and condolences over the loss of lives in the Pahalgam attack.
“On other hand it is India that glorifies and celebrates its campaign of assassination and terrorism in Pakistan and other countries,” Dar added. He added that Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism planned and sponsored in India.
He added that it was ‘disappointing’ that India has resorted to blaming Pakistan for narrow political interests. He added that India raises tensions with Pakistan to divert attention from abuses in Indian-Occupied Kashmir.
“The root cause of instability in the region is the unresolved Kashmir conflict,” Dar added.
He added that Pakistan has nothing to do with the Pahalgam attack and does not stand to gain anything from the incident.
Dar also condemned the Indian cabinet’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty, adding that the treaty cannot be amended or ended without consensus. He added that Pakistan had given up three rivers to achieve a stable consensus in the region.
He also repeated that usurpation of waters given to Pakistan by the treaty would be considered an ‘act of war’.
The Foreign Minister said that Pakistan will not be the first one to resort to escalatory moves, but in case of escalation by India, Pakistan will respond ‘very strongly’. He added that the nation and the armed forces are ‘alert’ and will respond to any adventure befittingly.
‘FIR registered within 10 minutes of attack‘
MoFA Spokesman Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan said that the incident occurred 230km away from the border in a hilly area. He added that the FIR of the attack was registered within 10 minutes even though the it takes a minimum of 30 minutes to reach the nearest police station.
DG ISPR Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that not only was the FIR registered immediately, it also immediately pinned the blame on Pakistan.
Chaudhry said that there is a narrative being made that the killings were carried out on the basis of religion. However, he added, the FIR mentioned indiscriminate firing. He added that a Muslim had been targeted in the incident as well.
He added that immediately after the attack, a campaign had been launched on Indian media and social media to blame Pakistan for the attack in a coordinated manner.
The DG added that India has used false flag operations in the past to achieve political ends such as the revocation of Kashmir’s special status. He added that the Pahalgam attack is now being used for attacking the IWT.
Chaudhry also Kashmiri and Pakistani prisoners being held in jails across India were being killed in fake encounters and being framed as terrorists.
[This story is being updated]
