(Reuters) – Pakistan believes an international investigation is needed into the killing of 26 men at a tourist spot in Indian Kashmir this week and is willing to work with international investigators, the New York Times reported on Friday, quoting Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
Asif told the newspaper in an interview that Pakistan was “ready to cooperate” with “any investigation which is conducted by international inspectors.”
India has said there were Pakistani elements to the attack on Tuesday, but Islamabad has denied any involvement. The two countries both claim the mountainous region but each controls only part of it.
Since the attack, the nuclear-armed nations have unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with India putting the critical Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines.
Asif told the newspaper that India had used the aftermath of the militant attack as a pretext to suspend the water treaty and for domestic political purposes.
India, was taking steps to punish Pakistan “without any proof, without any investigation,” he added.
“We do not want this war to flare up, because flaring up of this war can cause disaster for this region,” Asif told the newspaper.
A little-known militant group, Kashmir Resistance, claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media message.
Indian security agencies say Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front, is a front for Pakistan-based militant organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Asif disputed that allegation in the interview. He said Lashkar-e-Taiba was “defunct” and had no ability to plan or conduct attacks from Pakistan-controlled territory.
“They don’t have any setup in Pakistan,” he said, according to the newspaper.
“Those people, whatever is left of them, they are contained. Some of them are under house arrest, some of them are in custody. They are not at all active,” the official said.
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Comments