PHOTO: AFP
At least 10 people, including six Indian soldiers, were killed when militants stormed an army base in Sunjuwan in the Indian occupied Kashmir.
Soon after the attack, some Indian officials started pointing a finger at Pakistan, with claims that the attackers were from Pakistan who sneaked through the highly-militarised de facto border last year.
But Pakistan strongly rejected the insinuation.
In reply to a question, the spokesperson referred to statements of certain Indian police and defence officials, and media insinuations in connection with the reported attack on Sunjuwan camp in Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, and stated that “Pakistan strongly rejects all such allegations”.
India weighs response to deadly Kashmir attack it blames on Pakistan
The statement said it was a well-established pattern that Indian officials begin making irresponsible statements and levelling unfounded allegations, even before any proper investigation in any incident has been initiated.
“A particular segment in the Indian media runs with their innuendos to malign Pakistan and whips up public frenzy. We are confident that the world community would take due cognisance of India’s smear campaign against Pakistan, and the deliberate creation of war hysteria,” the Foreign Office noted.
The spokesperson added that those tactics were also aimed at diverting attention from the state terrorism in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir that India was engaged in.
Five troops killed in held Kashmir army camp attack as operation enters second day
The brutalisation of peaceful, unarmed Kashmiris through harassment, incarceration, disappearances, torture, extrajudicial killings, sham trials and summary executions are well documented internationally.
The valiant people of Kashmir, however, remain resilient in the face of all these hardships, as they pursue their legitimate right to self-determination.
“We hope that the international community would urge India to stop the untold atrocities and gross violations of human rights in IoK, refrain from any misadventure across the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, and call for a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, in line with the United Nations Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.”
The gun battle between Indian soldiers and militants raged into its second day, police said.
Peace talks impossible with gun in Pakistan’s hand, says India
Militants stormed the Sunjuwan camp in the city of Jammu early on Saturday and hundreds of police and soldiers were rushed in to dislodge the fighters, a home ministry official said.
Five soldiers and a civilian were killed, as were three militants, a senior police officer said.
Officials said an unknown number of attackers were cornered inside the camp's residential complex on Sunday.
"The terrorists entered the family accommodation complex after which a quick response team cordoned off the area and isolated the terrorists inside the camp," said a senior government official.
The director general of police for Jammu and Kashmir, S P Vaid, said communications intercepts "suggest that the terrorists involved in the attack belong to Jaish-e-Mohammad group".
Army spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand said the three dead militants were wearing fatigues and had assault rifles, a grenade launcher and grenades.
Authorities said most of the 170 houses in the complex had been cleared and the occupants had moved out.
The army camp is close to two shopping centres and public schools. A curfew has been imposed in parts of the city.
With additional input from Reuters
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