Gurdaspur attack aftermath: FO rebuffs Indian claims over Pakistan infiltration

SECP begins serving notices to 23 aid groups that failed to file audited accounts

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad has vehemently dismissed New Delhi’s assertion that the gunmen who went on a killing spree in India’s Gurdaspur district came from Pakistan.

In a strong rebuttal issued on Thursday, the Foreign Office (FO) also warned that such ‘provocative’ accusations by India were a threat to peace and security in the region.

The reaction came hours after India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh claimed that the three Gurdaspur attackers entered India from Pakistan after crossing the River Ravi.

“Preliminary analysis of GPS data indicated that the terrorists had infiltrated from Pakistan,” he told Indian parliament. It is the first time that a senior Indian official has directly pointed fingers at Pakistan over the attack.

“The government will do everything possible to prevent cross-border terrorism aimed against India,” Singh assured the house, adding that “any effort by the enemies of our nation to undermine India’s territorial integrity and security, or imperil the safety and security of our citizens will meet an effective and forceful response from our security forces.”



“Pakistan regrets the unsubstantiated and unwarranted assertion that those involved in the Gurdaspur incident of July 27 entered India from Pakistan,” FO spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said in a statement issued in response. “Pakistan believes that the [Indian] home minister’s provocative comments are a threat to peace and security in the region,” he warned.

He also said that Islamabad had “noted with concern” the continuing tendency of New Delhi to pin the blame on Pakistan for any terrorist incident in India.  “In the Gurdaspur incident, blame was apportioned to Pakistan in the Indian media, even when the encounter with terrorists was still going on.”

Qazi pointed out that the government of Pakistan issued a statement condemning “in the strongest terms” the attack in Gurdaspur immediately after the incident took place.

“Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Terrorism is a common enemy of both Pakistan and India. To tackle terrorism, a cooperative approach is required. Blame game, and finger-pointing would be unhelpful,” he stressed.

The spokesman urged the government of India to “refrain from casting baseless allegations and work with Pakistan to eliminate terrorism from South Asia.” He added that if New Delhi had any concrete evidence pertaining to the Gurdaspur attack, it should share it with Islamabad.

In response to a question about the possible fallout of Gurdaspur attack on the process of normalisation between Pakistan and India during his weekly news briefing earlier in the day, Qazi insisted that Islamabad was committed to taking all necessary measures to improve ties with New Delhi on the basis of mutual respect and a firm commitment to address all outstanding issues. He said both sides were in contact with each other to fix dates for the meeting between the two countries’ national security advisers.

However, it is not clear whether the crucial meeting will now go ahead in the wake of the latest wave of recriminations based on the Gurdaspur attack. So far, India has given no indication that it plans to call off the talks.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^st, 2015.