By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The military said on Monday that India had failed to provide any “shred of evidence” even one week after a deadly attack that killed 26 tourists in occupied Kashmir, challenging New Delhi’s accusations of Islamabad’s involvement.
The April 22 attack in Pahalgam, a resort town in the disputed Kashmir region, was the deadliest there since 2000. India accused Pakistan of backing the assault, a charge Islamabad has repeatedly denied. The dispute has triggered retaliatory measures, straining bilateral relations.
On April 23, India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, a World Bank-mediated agreement securing water for 80 percent of Pakistani agriculture. Pakistan condemned the move as an act of war and banned Indian airlines from its airspace, among other reciprocal actions.
Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused India of engaging in a blame game over the Pahalgam attack and expressed the country’s willingness to participate in a neutral, transparent, and credible investigation to address the crisis.
Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the military’s spokesman, briefed journalists in Islamabad, reiterating India’s failure to substantiate its “baseless” accusations.
“Seven days have passed since the Pahalgam incident, but so far, there has been no shred of evidence that has been provided to support the baseless allegations being made against Pakistan,” Chaudhry told local and foreign journalists in a news briefing.
In a sharp rebuttal, Chaudhry accused India of orchestrating terrorism within Pakistani borders, presenting what he described as “undeniable” and “irrefutable” proof.
The military spokesman said India has been found operating terror networks inside Pakistan, wherein explosives, IEDs, and other lethal materials are being supplied to terrorists with the intent to target not only security forces but also innocent civilians.
“India is involved in state-sponsored cross-border terrorism against Pakistan,” he added. “This irrefutable evidence is just one small component of the broader pattern of state-sponsored terrorism being orchestrated by India.”
He outlined the April 25 arrest of a Pakistani citizen near Jhelum bus stand, allegedly trained and funded by India. Authorities seized an improvised explosive device, two mobile phones, and Rs70,000 from the suspect, later finding an Indian-made drone and Rs1 million in cash at his home.
General Chaudhry named four Indian army officials allegedly involved, including Major Sandeep Verma, the primary handler, and Subedar Sukvinder, a junior commissioned officer. “The Indian officer had sent an IED and instructed the terrorist to collect it from a point.”
“Further forensic analysis showed the involvement of four Indian army officials, including Major Sandeep Verma alias Sameer, the main handler and a commanding officer of the Indian army in occupied Kashmir; Subedar Sukvinder alias Sikander; Havildar Amit alias Adil Aman, and another Indian soldier.”
The military spokesman showed purported audio clips, screenshots of WhatsApp conversations between Indian handlers of the network and their operatives in Pakistan as well as receipts of payment transfers.
Chaudhry played an audio recording purportedly featuring Major Verma discussing terrorism operations and mode of payment with the suspect, Abdul Majeed.
“Just see, just hear what is being said by an Indian serving major. He is saying that ‘we conduct terrorism from Balochistan to Lahore’; He is telling the details of entry and how terror financing is carried out.”
Chaudhry said the suspect had carried out four bomb attacks using materials delivered by drones.
“One such attack was planned for April 23 at a busy bus stand, with the suspect receiving instructions on April 22, though he was apprehended two days later.”
The military spokesman emphasized that this was part of a broader pattern of Indian-directed terrorism, distinct from actions by its intelligence agency, RAW.
“It was not the Indian intelligence agency RAW but the Indian army that was doing such activities of state-sponsored terrorism.”
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