Almost a week after the Pulwama attack, Pakistan Prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday asked India to provide ‘actionable intelligence’ on any Pakistan hand in the attack and “guaranteed” action in case found credible.
The statement comes hours after India’s army commander Lt Gen KJS Dhillon said the Pakistani Army and ISI were involved in the Pulwama attack.
In a 10-minute-long televised address, Khan said his country was willing to cooperate in the probe not because of any external pressure but it wanted to dispel the notion that Pakistan was being used for terror activity.
“If someone is using our land to spread terror we will not tolerate it. It’s against our own interest. We are victims of terrorism ourselves and want the menace of terrorism eradicated in the region,” the PM said.
On the delay in responding to Indian allegations that the attack was masterminded by the Pakistani Army, Imran said the Government of Pakistan was waiting for the visit of the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince to be over. “Are we so stupid that we will organise such a terror attack when the Crown Prince was scheduled to visit us? India needs to understand that it’s a new Pakistan, a new mindset where we want development and not terror,” Khan said.
Raking up Kashmir, Khan said India needed to introspect on why the Kashmiri youths were carrying out such attacks. “They have reached such a point that they carry out such suicidal attacks. It’s because of the one-dimensional oppression in the Valley,” he remarked.
He, however, threatened India with dire consequences if a war was inflicted on Pakistan. “Anyone can start a war but ending it is not in anybody’s hands. It is disastrous for humanity,” he remarked.
