Islamabad, Apr 26 (UNI) In light of India’s retaliatory steps after the Pahalgam terror strike, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Islamabad is open to “a neutral and transparent” investigation into the terror attack which India has said has clear links to Pakistan.
Addressing a passing-out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, the Pakistani PM said: “The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt. Continuing with its role as a responsible country, Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation,” Dawn reported.
While Pakistan has continuously denied its role in the April 22 attack by Islamic terrorists, in which 26 tourists were killed, the country’s Defence Minister has openly admitted in an interview with Sky News, that Islamabad has been routinely using terrorist entities to carry out the US’ "dirty work" in the region for more than three decades.
The statement in itself was both a contradiction of Islamabad’s denial, and an affirmation of its close links and support for terrorist organisations, which it has used for carrying out proxy warfare against India and Afghanistan for decades.
New Delhi’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty has also elicited great panic in Pakistan, with the country saying that any act of stopping or diverting water from the Indus waters will be tantamount to an act of war.
The Pakistani premier, in his belligerent stance against the move, has warned of full retaliation. He said “Water is a vital national interest of Pakistan, our lifeline (…) Let there be no doubt at all (that) its availability will be safeguarded at all costs and under all circumstances.
“Therefore, any attempt to stop, reduce or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty would be responded to with full force and might.”
New Delhi has vowed vengeance against the attack, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the perpetrators and masterminds of this heinous attack will be hunted down and brought to justice.
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