Pakistan official calls for international inquiry into Kashmir terror attack

Washington: Pakistan’s defense minister on Friday declared his country’s innocence in a terror attack that killed 26 people this week in Kashmir, and said that an international investigation into the attack was needed.

In an interview, the minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, said that the country was “ready to cooperate” with “any investigation which is conducted by international inspectors.”

The minister’s remarks appeared to be aimed at defusing tensions with India, after armed militants attacked a tourist group Tuesday near Pahalgam, a town in the southern part of Kashmir. It was the deadliest terror attack on Indian-administered land in years.

In the days since, India has moved quickly to take steps against Pakistan, which also controls part of Kashmir, including by closing border crossings and suspending a crucial water pact. Officials in India have said they suspect the involvement of at least two Pakistani nationals in the attack.

Asif said that India had used the aftermath of the terror attack as a pretext to suspend the water treaty, and for domestic political purposes. India, he said, was taking steps to punish Pakistan “without any proof, without any investigation.”

Pakistani officials have asked the Trump administration to mediate the dispute.

“We do not want this war to flare up, because flaring up of this war can cause disaster for this region,” Asif said.

Officials in Washington have not yet attributed the attack in Kashmir this week to any group.

But the United States and other nations are wary about the aftermath of the attack. The loss of life has prompted sharp actions from India, and Western officials have worried that the tensions between two nuclear-armed neighbors could spiral out of control.

Still, Trump administration officials have expressed support for India. Vice President J D Vance was in India this week, a trip that came after Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, delivered a speech last month in New Delhi on the importance of international peace.

Both Pakistan and India have closed border crossings and taken actions against diplomats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this week that his country would punish “every terrorist and their backers.”