Pakistan denies involvement in Pahalgam terror attacks, calls incident ‘home-grown’

Pakistan has denied any involvement in its first official response to the Pahalgam terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, that left 26 people dead.Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khwaja Asif called the attacks “home-grown” linking it to the internal unrest in India, while asserting that his country had no link with the terrorist attacks.

“Pakistan has no link with the Pahalgam terror attack,” Asif said, reported News18

. “The central government in India is facing protests in many states, including Nagaland, Manipur, Kashmir and Chhattisgarh. This is home-grown as the government is exploiting many,” he added.
He further stated that Pakistan does not support terrorism in any form, and locals should not be a target for terrorists. “If local forces are targeting the Indian government, it becomes easy to target Pakistan,” Asif added.Read more: Pahalgam terror attack: Three terrorists identified, what probe has revealed so far

Pak’s foreign ministry extends condolences

In a separate statement, the spokesperson from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended condolences to the families of those killed in the attack.

“We are concerned at the loss of tourists’ lives in the attack in Anantnag district. We extend our condolences to the near ones of the deceased and wished the injured a speedy recovery,” the ministry was quoted as saying by India Today.

Amit Shah Visits Pahalgam

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Srinagar shortly after the incident and laid wreaths on the coffins of the victims at the Police Control Room. He also met with the grieving families and assured them of justice.

Shah later reached the site of terror attacks in Pahalgam’s Baisaran, and also chaired a high-level security review meeting, attended by Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and other top officials.

Read more: Kashmir Pahalgam Terror Attack Live: Three terrorists identified, Shah says culprits won’t be spared

Pahalgam terror attacks

The deadly terror assault took place on Tuesday, April 22, afternoon in the Baisaran region in Pahalgam, a popular tourist destination in J&K, and has been described as one of the worst attacks on civilians in the region since the 2019 Pulwama strike.

The terror attack resulted in deaths of 26 people, including tourists from Karnataka,  Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and two foreign nationals from the UAE and Nepal, as per reports.

Authorities are continuing their investigation and have intensified search operations to trace the perpetrators of the attack.