Islamabad, April 26 (HS): After the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan is attempting to deflect criticism by turning to foreign media. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has accused India of involvement and called for an international investigation into the attack, which resulted in the death of 26 people, primarily tourists—marking the deadliest assault since 2000.The Resistance Front (TRF) has purportedly claimed responsibility for the incident.

Following the attack, tensions have escalated, with India suspending the Indus Water Treaty and Pakistan responding by halting the Shimla Agreement and closing its airspace to Indian flights. Asif expressed Pakistan's willingness to cooperate with international observers in any investigation. He highlighted that Pakistan seeks to avoid a water war despite the circumstances, insisting that the banned group Lashkar-e-Taiba is now inactive and lacks the capacity for orchestrating attacks.

Asif suggested that the Indian government could be behind the attack as a pretext to disengage from the water treaty. He also warned, in a separate Sky News interview, that any Indian aggression could spark a war, urging global awareness of the potential for large-scale military conflict in the region.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar