Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday alleged that India was responsible for an attack on the Pakistan High Commission in London, amid raised tensions between both nuclear-armed nations.
According to The Express Tribune, the high commission was vandalised by a group of Indian protesters who threw saffron-coloured paint on the building’s exterior and smashed windows. It said that hundreds of Indian protesters were gathered outside the Pakistani mission, while two individuals were arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack.
Addressing a press briefing for international media outlets about the Pahalgam incident in Islamabad today, Tarar accused India of using its “extremist ideology” to encourage people to attack Pakistan’s foreign missions.
“A very unfortunate incident took place in London, our high commission was attacked twice, and stones were thrown,” Tarar said. “The people who are responsible are being sponsored by Indian agencies and the Indian state.”
The minister said that suspects had been arrested by London’s Metropolitan Police, but highlighted that the incident was a product of the “kind of mindset that the Indian state has”.
He did not specify how many people had been arrested or give any further details about the attack.
“If you can kill people internationally in Canada and the US, then nothing will stop you from attacking a few foreign missions,” he said, referring to transnational assassinations of Sikh leaders.
During the briefing, Tarar highlighted weaknesses in India’s account of the Pahalgam attack, adding that they “jumped to conclusions” about Pakistan’s involvement.
“This Pahalgam episode to me seems like a distraction,” Tarar said, adding that Pakistan was seeing success against terrorists. “Pahalgam is more than 150 kilometres away from the Line of Control.
“Do you have credible evidence? Do you have any argument that is substantiated by proof?” he asked. “Why is it that the first information report … was registered in the Pahalgam police station within 10 minutes of the incident?”
Tarar explained that for an FIR to be lodged, officials must visit the area, collect evidence, conduct a complete scan of the scene, carry out forensic analysis, and account for the usual time lag between the occurrence and the registration of the report.
“Why is it that right after 10 minutes an FIR is registered and the blame is put on Pakistan?” he asked. “The reason that we have called for an independent, impartial and transparent inquiry is because our hands are clean. I think our eastern neighbour was quick to jump to conclusions.”
The minister echoed allegations by other Pakistani leaders that India was funding terrorist activities within Pakistan.
“Why was there hesitation on the part of our eastern neighbour to issue a simple statement of condemnation condemning the episode?” he asked, speaking about the attack on the Jaffar Express last month.
“Why is it that whenever we face terrorism and we counter terrorists and blood is spilt … why is it that the eastern neighbour always celebrates?
“There is a reason behind that … India is involved in state-sponsored terrorism.
“Had we not apprehended Kulbushan Jadhav, had we not obtained incriminating and irrefutable evidence against him, I would not have been making this argument today,” he said, referring to the Indian spy caught in Pakistan in 2016.
The April 22 attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people, mostly tourists, and is one of the deadliest armed attacks in the disputed Himalayan region since the year 2000. Responsibility for the attack was allegedly claimed by the hitherto unknown The Resistance Front (TRF).
Following the attack, the nuclear-armed nations have unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with India unilaterally suspending the critical Indus Waters Treaty and Pakistan retaliating by threatening to put the Simla Agreement in abeyance and closing its airspace for Indian flights.
India has implied cross-border linkages of the attackers, while Pakistan strongly denied any involvement.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said Pakistan was open to any “neutral and transparent” investigation into the Pahalgam attack, criticising India for continuing with a “pattern of exploitation, levelling baseless allegations and false accusations without credible investigation or verifiable evidence”.
“Our valiant armed forces remain fully capable and prepared to defend the country’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity against any misadventures, as clearly demonstrated by our measured yet resolute response to India’s reckless incursion in February 2019,” he added, referring to ‘Operation Swift Retort’.
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