MUZAFFARABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Monday Islamabad would refute India’s “baseless” allegations it was involved in an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month by preparing dossiers that Pakistani delegations would send to various capitals worldwide.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have surged to alarming levels over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on Apr. 22 that killed 26 tourists. New Delhi has accused Islamabad of backing the perpetrators, an allegation Pakistan has vehemently denied and called for a credible, international probe to ascertain facts.
The information minister took a delegation of local and international journalists to the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border separating the two parts of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, to dismiss Indian allegations of the presence of militant camps in the area.
“We are sending our delegations with full preparation to most capitals of the world, to international fora,” Tarar told Arab News. “These delegations will have parliamentarians, will have diplomats, will have former diplomats. So we will go to every forum, we will go to the capitals of the world and we will tell the world that India has leveled baseless accusations.”
Pakistan's foreign office said it has requested emergency closed-door consultations of the UN Security Council in light of surging tensions with India. It said Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, will deliver a statement at the Security Council stakeout area following the meeting on Monday afternoon.
Pakistan’s foreign office said on Sunday Islamabad intends to brief the UN Security Council about India’s” aggressive actions, provocations and inflammatory statements.” It said Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has tasked the country’s envoy to the UN to take measures to summon a Security Council meeting for a briefing on Pakistan’s heightened tensions with India.
“I think we are preparing a lot of documents and you see we’ve moved the UNSC,” Tarar said. “But we will be sending dossiers to different capitals of the world and you will see that Pakistan will present its case in a very effective manner.”
The Pakistani minister criticized New Delhi for failing to provide evidence to support its accusations that Islamabad was involved in the attack. He reiterated that Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself if India launched a military action against it.
“And if there is any aggression on part of India, they will have a decisive response,” Tarar vowed.
He said the Pakistani government had arranged local and international journalists to visit the LoC to demonstrate that there are no “terrorist camps” in the area, contrary to India’s claims.
“So, I think we’ve come here to show you that life goes on as usual near the Line of Control,” Tarar said. “Our people are going about their usual business and our people are peaceful.”
Tarar pointed out that India has not responded to Pakistan’s demand for a transparent and impartial investigation into the Pahalgam attack.
“So I think it’s a security and intel failure which they’re blaming on Pakistan,” he said.
Pakistan and India have both taken several measures against each other since the Apr. 22 attack. The nuclear-armed rivals have expelled each other’s diplomats and citizens, ordered their land border shut and closed their airspace to their countries. New Delhi has also suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad, amid reports of skirmishes along their de facto border in Kashmir.
India and Pakistan have fought two out of three wars since 1947 over the disputed Kashmir territory. Both countries claim the region in full but administer only parts of it. Pakistan accuses India of suppressing the rights of the Muslim-majority region while New Delhi accuses Islamabad of arming and funding separatists in Kashmir. Both deny each other’s allegations.
Several countries around the world including the US, China, Saudi Arabia, UK, Iran, Turkiye and others have called on both India and Pakistan to show restraint and avoid a military confrontation.
