DG ISPR rejects India's allegations over Pahalgam attack

RAWALPINDI: Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry rejected India’s baseless accusations following the Pahalgam attack and provided evidence of India’s state-sponsored cross-border terrorism in Pakistan, particularly Balochistan.

Addressing an important press conference to inform the public about the current security situation in Pakistan and address India’s baseless allegations, the DG ISPR said, “It has been seven days since the Pahalgam attack, yet not a single shred of evidence has been provided to substantiate the baseless allegations levelled against Pakistan.”

The DG ISPR said that India is actively involved in spreading terrorism within Pakistan, operating and supporting terrorist networks on Pakistani soil.

During the briefing, DG ISPR shared that on 25 April, an arrest was made near the Jhelum bus stand. “A man named Abdul Majeed, who was reportedly trained in India, was taken into custody. Authorities recovered a drone, an improvised explosive device (IED), and Rs. 25,000 in cash from him,” the DG ISPR added.

“It has been seven days since the Pahalgam attack, yet not a single shred of evidence has been provided to substantiate the baseless allegations levelled against Pakistan,” Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry added

It is pertinent to mention here that tensions have escalated between Pakistan and India after the latter’s baseless allegations against Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which killed 26 persons, the majority of whom were tourists.

Without providing any proof, India accused Pakistan of the attack shortly after it happened.

India’s foreign ministry on Wednesday announced to hold the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in abeyance and close the Attari and Wagah borders. Pakistani nationals will no longer be able to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption.

The Indian foreign ministry also announced to India recall all its defense attachés from Islamabad.

The Indian foreign ministry maintained that the number of diplomatic staff will be reduced from 55 to 30, asking the military advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi to leave the country within a week.

In a befitting response, Pakistan rejected the Indian announcement to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and closed its airspace to Indian flights.

The decision was taken in the National Security Committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad following Indian aggression.

The participants discussed the national security environment and the regional situation, particularly in the wake of Pahalgam attack in the Anantnag District of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday last.

The committee highlighted that the Indus Waters Treaty is a binding international agreement brokered by the World Bank and contains no provision for unilateral suspension.

National Security Committee said in statement “Water is a Vital National Interest of Pakistan, a lifeline for its 240 million people and its availability will be safeguarded at all costs”.

“Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty, and the usurpation of the rights of lower riparian will be considered as an Act of War and responded with full force across the complete spectrum of National Power”. it added.