Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif broke his silence on the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which left 26 tourists dead, and said his country was open to any “neutral and transparent” investigation into the incident.
Addressing a passing-out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, PM Shehbaz was quoted as saying by Dawn News: “The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt.”
Sharif said his nation was open to participating in a transparent probe by continuing the role of a responsible nation.
“Continuing with its role as a responsible country, Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation,” he said.
Throat-Slit Gesture
While Sharif proposed a neutral probe into the incident, a senior Pakistani official triggered a controversy in London by making a throat-slit gesture at the Indian diaspora who had gathered outside the Pakistan High Commission in the city to demonstrate against the Pahalgam terror attack.
As the Indian diaspora were raising slogans, Colonel Taimur Rahat, who is the Pakistan Army and Air Advisor in the High Commission in London, flashed a poster of Indian fighter pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Islamabad after India conducted an airstrike to counter the 2019 Pulwama terror attack.
Along with the poster, Colonel Rahat made the throat-slit gesture at the protesters, who called it not just an “insensitivity” but a “provocation”.
More than 500 members of the Indian and Jewish communities in the UK had gathered outside the High Commission in London to protest against the attack, which had killed 26 tourists, mostly Hindus, at Baisaran Valley in the popular tourist spot of Pahalgam in South Kashmir.
The protesters waved Indian flags, blamed Pakistan for backing the terror outfits, demanded justice and appealed to the UK to take diplomatic action against Islamabad.
Modi Declares War On Terrorism
The terror attack, which has drawn widespread condemnation from world leaders, has led India and its arch-rival Pakistan to a fresh confrontation, a major one since the Pulwama terror attack, which was backed by Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in 2019.
After several diplomatic strikes on Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday promised retaliation and said the terrorists and their backers will pay unimaginable costs for the attack on innocent tourists.
Addressing a rally in Bihar’s Madhubani, the Prime Minister significantly switched to English and said: “From the soil of Bihar, I tell the whole world that India will identify them and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the end of the earth. India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished.”
Pahalgam Terror Horror
Twenty-five tourists were killed after terrorists identified them as non-Muslims and gunned them down in Baisaran meadows, a popular destination in Pahalgam. A local man was also shot dead when he tried to disarm a terrorist.
World leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, condemned the attack.
The terrorists, who were apparently in camouflage, reportedly asked the victims to chant Islamic verse, pull down their pants to check circumcision in a bid to confirm their Hindu identities before gunning them down.
(With inputs from IBNS)
