Police and security personnel stand guard outside Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi following Pahalgam's terrorist attack.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Pakistan on Wednesday termed the terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir as one of the many “revolutions” against the repressions of minority communities by the forces of Hindutva in India.
Islamabad also reiterated its allegation that New Delhi was using the territory of Afghanistan to sponsor terrorism in Balochistan in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s “all-weather” ally, China, however, extended its condolences to the families of the victims of the terror attacks, albeit carefully avoiding acknowledging the scene of the carnage as part of the territory of India.
“China has noted the relevant reports and strongly condemns the attack. China firmly opposes all forms of terrorism. We mourn the victims and extend our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and the injured,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Government, said in Beijing. He was replying to a query from a journalist on the terrorist attacks in Kashmir.
The terrorists, who sneaked into India from the J&K areas under illegal occupation of Pakistan, sprayed bullets on tourists and others at a meadow in Pahalgam, nearly seven kilometres from Pahalgam in the Union Territory, on Tuesday. They killed at least 26 people and left over 20 others injured.
Pakistan’s defence minister, Khwaja Asif, denied any role of his nation’s civil-military establishment in the latest terrorist attacks in India.
“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,” Asif told a TV channel on Wednesday.
“The people are asking for their rights (in India). 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 added.
“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 – and if they are revolting and taking up arms – then it is easy to blame Pakistan.”
Islamabad has long accused New Delhi of sponsoring terrorism in Balochistan, particularly of supporting the Baloch Liberation Army, including for attacks on the personnel of China engaged in projects in Pakistan and territories illegally occupied by Pakistan.
The BLA is a militant organisation fighting for the independence of Balochistan. The outfit recently hijacked a train with about 380 passengers. The stand-off continued till the Pakistan Army rescued the train by killing 33 militants, with several passengers being carried out.
“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,” Asif said on Wednesday.
New Delhi had already dismissed Islamabad’s allegation about India’s role in the hijacking and other terrorist strikes in Pakistan.