Pulwama terror attack: Pak denies link, vows strong reply
Pakistan strongly rejected insinuation by elements in the Indian government and media circles that have sought to link it to the attack.
Islamabad: Strongly rejecting Indian media and New Delhi’s allegations of the Pakistan’s link to the Pulwama strike, Islamabad on Friday vowed to give a “strong reply” to India at the diplomatic level for levelling allegations without even investigating the attack, officials said Friday.
Pakistan strongly rejected “insinuation” by elements in the Indian government and media circles that have sought to link it to the attack. Asserting that Pakistan has “always condemned acts of violence” anywhere in the world, the foreign office said, “We strongly reject any insinuation by elements in the Indian media and government that seek to link the attack to Pakistan without investigations.”
In a tweet, foreign office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said, “We have always condemned heightened acts of violence in Valley.”
Meanwhile, India slammed Pakistan over the Pulwama terror attack and asked the neighbouring country to stop supporting terrorists and dismantle terror infrastructure operating from its soil. The Indian foreign secretary has also rejected the statement made by Pakistan, denying any link to the terror strike.
On Friday, Indian government sources in New Delhi said, “The foreign secretary summoned the Pakistan high commissioner to the ministry of external affairs today at 2 pm and issued a very strong demarche in connection with the terrorist attack in Pulwama yesterday.”
India also strongly reiterated its appeal to all members of the international community to support the proposal to list terrorists, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Masood Azhar, as a designated terrorist under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, and to ban terrorist organisations operating from territories controlled by Pakistan.
On Thursday, at least 44 CRPF personnel were killed in Kashmir in one the deadliest attacks. The attack saw explosives packed inside a van rip through buses in a convoy of 78 vehicles carrying some 2,500 members of the paramilitary force. Two buses carrying around 35 people each bore the brunt of the massive blast, heard miles away, around 20 kilometres from the city of Srinagar on the main highway to Jammu.