Malaysian PM rebuffs Indian media attempt to tie Pakistan to terrorism

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has rejected a suggestion that Pakistan was responsible for the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), saying there was no intelligence assessment available to him that established state-sponsored terrorism by Pakistan.

Speaking to Indian broadcaster NDTV on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Anwar was asked about the Pahalgam attack and whether he considered Pakistan’s alleged involvement in the incident an act of state terrorism.

The interviewer, Vishnu Som, first asked the Malaysian premier whether he considered Israel’s actions against Hamas to constitute terrorism.

“Yes, it is terrorism, state terrorism,” Anwar said.

Som then asked whether, by the same reasoning, he would consider what Pakistan had allegedly done in Pahalgam and against India to be state terrorism.

“I wouldn’t go to this extent. I know it is very sensitive to say that in India. But, of course, I am a close friend of Modi. We engaged with Pakistanis; we thought that these issues can be resolved,” Anwar said.

When pressed on why he was not criticising Pakistan over terrorism, Anwar said it first had to be established that Pakistan was responsible.

“It has to be established. I am not suggesting that there were no terrorist acts. But to ascertain for certain, I mean none of my intelligence establishment, their engagement with India would come back and tell me yes, there was a state-sponsored terrorism there,” he said.

Twenty-six people were killed in the April 2025 attack in Pahalgam, one of the deadliest attacks in the disputed region in decades. India quickly blamed Pakistan for the incident, a charge Islamabad has denied.

The attack sharply escalated tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, with India subsequently launching military strikes against Pakistan.

Pakistan responded with military action, leading to an 88-hour conflict before a ceasefire was reached.