Pahalgam attack unfortunate, India used it to destabilise peace, says Pak PM
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused India of using the “unfortunate” terror attack in Pahalgam to destablise regional peace through “unprovoked and reckless” hostility towards the country.
Speaking at the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) Summit in Azerbaijan, one of the nations that backed Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, Sharif again raised the Kashmir issue, condemning “barbaric acts” against innocent people in the Union Territory.
In the same breath, he also slammed the targeting of innocents in Gaza and Iran, in a veiled swipe at Israel.
“The unprovoked and reckless Indian hostility directed towards Pakistan after an unfortunate incident in Jammu and Kashmir was yet another attempt to destabilise regional peace,” Sharif said.
On April 22, 25 tourists and a local were killed in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley – in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Kashmir in recent years. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, had claimed responsibility for the attack.
Holding Pakistan responsible for sheltering the terrorists, India launched Operation Sindoor days later, destroying nine terror camps deep inside the country.
It sparked widespread hostilities as Pakistan launched a wave of drone attacks, with India effectively countering it. The conflict ended on May 10 after Pakistan reached out to India for a ceasefire following massive strikes on its military bases.
PAK PM CONDEMNS BARBARIC ACTS IN KASHMIR
Sharif also denounced Israel’s recent airstrikes against Iran, calling them “acts of aggression”.
Israel launched ‘Operation Rising Lion’ in June to neutralise Iran’s nuclear program – which it sees as an existential threat – before agreeing to a truce 12 days later. Over 600 people died during the conflict in Iran.
“Pakistan stands firmly against those who perpetrate barbaric acts against innocent people anywhere in the world, whether in Gaza, Kashmir, or Iran,” he said.
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