While there are rising tensions with India, Pakistan has made a plea to have China and Russia on board to probe the recent terror strike in Kashmir, as per PTI news report on Sunday (April 27).
The attack on April 22 in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, resulted in 26 fatalities, with the majority of them being tourists. It was the most fatal attack since the 2019 Pulwama attack. At first, The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), took credit but later blamed their account as being hacked by Indian authorities.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, in an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti, called for an international investigation team headed by China, Russia, or Western countries to find out the truth. He added that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also favors such an investigation.
“We need to find out the actual culprits. Unfounded allegations should be supported by concrete evidence,” Asif said, rejecting allegations of Pakistan’s involvement as baseless.
Indian intelligence circles have pointed towards a direct or indirect connection to Pakistan, and Islamabad retorts by speculating that it might be an “false flag operation” carried out by India. Even some Pakistani analysts have gone as far as to call the perpetrators “freedom fighters,” making the story more complicated.
Even Pakistan has distanced itself from TRF, with Asif informing BBC News that groups like these have been “defunct” in Pakistan for years.
At the same time, China is said to have supported Pakistan’s appeal for a neutral investigation. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a call with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, emphasized restraint and de-escalation of tensions. China reaffirmed its steadfast support for Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism, Global Times stated.
Pakistan and China are said to have cooperated to temper the United Nations Security Council’s statement on the Kashmir attack.
