Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday denied any connection to the deadly terror attack on tourists near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, describing the violence as the result of “home-grown” unrest in India and accusing New Delhi of fomenting instability within Pakistan.
The attack, carried out by unidentified terrorists at the popular Baisaran meadow, left at least 26 dead and dozens injured, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cut short his official visit to Saudi Arabia and return to New Delhi for an emergency review meeting.
Asif, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and a close aide of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, told the Live 92 news channel: “Pakistan has no connection with this. This is all home-grown, there are revolutions in different so-called states against India, not one, not two, but dozens, from Nagaland to Kashmir, in the south, in Chhattisgarh, in Manipur. In all these places, there are revolutions against the Indian government.”
Although there has been no official Indian statement directly linking the attack to Pakistan-based elements, Asif’s remarks came even as Indian intelligence agencies suggested possible cross-border involvement. New Delhi has not yet formally commented on his assertions.
Asif further alleged that India’s internal discontent is being masked by the government through external accusations. “These are home-grown, the people are asking for their rights. Hindutva forces are exploiting the people, repressing minorities and exploiting Christians and Buddhists. They are being killed, this is a revolution against that, it is because of this that such activities are happening there,” he said.
Reiterating Islamabad’s official stance on terrorism, Asif added, “There is absolutely no connection to us [in this incident]. We don’t support terrorism anywhere under any circumstances and innocent people should not be the target anywhere in any local conflicts.”
“There can be no doubt about it that our national policy doesn’t allow the targeting of non-combatants but if the army or police are committing atrocities anywhere in India against people asking for their rights – people who don’t have even fundamental rights, if they are revolting and taking up arms – then it is easy to blame Pakistan,” he added.
The Pakistani defence minister also claimed that Islamabad has repeatedly provided evidence of Indian involvement in stirring unrest across the border. “We have evidence gathered almost daily that we have given – not once but on many occasions – that India is sponsoring unrest in Balochistan and other areas [of Pakistan]. Whether they are doing it sitting in Afghanistan or elsewhere, there is a long history of India sponsoring unrest in Pakistan,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a carefully worded statement that stopped short of calling the Pahalgam incident a terror attack or condemning it outright.
“We are concerned at the loss of tourists’ lives in an attack in Anantnag district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. We extend our condolences to the near ones of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” the ministry’s spokesperson said.
India-Pakistan ties have remained severely strained since New Delhi revoked Article 370 in August 2019, ending Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcating it into two Union Territories. In response, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties and has since regularly raised the issue at international forums, though India maintains that Kashmir is strictly an internal matter and Pakistan has no locus standi.
The attack at Baisaran has once again highlighted the fragile security situation in Kashmir, as well as the continuing diplomatic chill between the two neighbours.
Follow us
