Pulwama attack revelations vindicate Pakistan: FO

So-called ex-IIOJK governor blames 'incompetence', ‘negligence’ of CRPF, Indian home ministry

ISLAMABAD:

The Foreign Office on Sunday said the latest revelations made by Satya Pal Malik, the so-called former governor of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), had vindicated Pakistan’s stance on the February 2019 Pulwama attack.

"His disclosures demonstrate how the Indian leadership has habitually used the bogey of terrorism from Pakistan to advance its sham victimhood narrative and the Hindutva agenda, clearly for domestic political gains," an FO statement read.

Read G-20 Summit in IIOJK: a new low in our Kashmir policy

In an interview, Satya, who was the so-called IIOJK governor during the Pulwama attack of February 2019 and the scrapping of Article 370 in August that year, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “ill-informed” and “ignorant” about Kashmir.

In an extraordinarily revealing interview with Karan Thapar, Satyapal Malik says that the CRPF had asked for aircrafts ahead of the Pulwama tragedy, and the request was denied by the Union govt.

Full interview here: https://t.co/47ENX7WzM2 pic.twitter.com/7vISmPFGtz

— The Wire (@thewire_in) April 14, 2023

He added that Modi had told him not to speak about the home ministry’s lapses, which led to the devastating terrorist attack on Indian soldiers in Pulwama in February 2019.

In a wide-ranging interview with Karan Thapar, Satya revealed that the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama was a result of the “incompetence” and “negligence” of the Indian system.

In particular, he added that the reason behind the attack was the ineffectiveness as well as carelessness by the CRPF convoy in Pulwama, terming it a result of “incompetence” and “negligence” of the Indian system.

At that time, Rajnath Singh was the Indian home minister.

Satya gave extensive details about how the CRPF had asked for aircraft to transport its personnel but was refused by the union home ministry.

He also spoke about how the sanitisation of the route was not carried out effectively.

More importantly, he said all of these lapses were raised by him directly when Modi called him from outside Corbett Park shortly after the Pulwama attack.

The interview with Satya Pal Malik gives a fair idea of what Malik was being asked to be silent about, but what is of great concern is who asked him to stay silent, writes @JagdeepChhokar. https://t.co/OMlu7nvLZZ

— The Wire (@thewire_in) April 16, 2023

He added that the Indian prime minister had told him to keep quiet about the matter and not disclose it to anyone.

Satya disclosed that Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had also told him to keep mum on the issue and not talk about it.

He added that he had immediately realised that the intention was to put the blame on Pakistan and derive electoral benefit for the ruling BJP.

The FO said in the statement that Pakistan hoped that the international community would take cognisance of the latest revelations as well as see through New Delhi's propaganda campaign against Islamabad “driven by selfish political considerations and based on lies and deceit”.

It added that India must answer the questions raised in the latest disclosures.

“It is time India be held accountable for the actions that imperiled regional peace in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack,” the statement continued.

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 “Pakistan, for its part, will continue to counter India’s false narrative, and act firmly and responsibly in the face of different provocations,” it concluded.

The February 2019 Pulwama attack led Islamabad and New Delhi on the verge of a full-scale war when Indian jets crossed the Line of Control.

Pakistan retaliated with shooting down two Indian planes and capturing its pilot.

A major disaster was averted after intervention by the US and other international players.

However, the new revelations by the IIOJK so-called former governor vindicated Pakistan’s stance as well as that of the critics who were of the opinion that the Modi government had used the attack to win elections.

A few months after the attack, Modi returned with a thumping majority as anti-Pakistan sentiments played a major role in his party’s victory.