Pakistan Minister of Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Friday, 15 February, said that Islamabad was willing to cooperate in any investigation into the Pulwama attack, that left at least 40 CRPF personnel dead on Thursday, provided that India can ‘muster up evidence first’.
Speaking to CNN-News18, Chaudhry said that Pakistan condemns the heinous attack and is inclined to work towards the eradication of terrorism in the interest of both Pakistan and India.
On being asked what action Pakistan will take in the aftermath of the attack, given that JeM had claimed credit for it, he said, “India must provide evidence first.”
“Within minutes of any terror attack, India blames Pakistan. This shows that the accusations are politically motivated and that there is no substance to them,” he added.
“There are elements on both sides that don’t want normalisation. Primarily, it is the responsibility of the leadership that it shouldn’t help in spreading the fire,” he added.
Chaudhry also said that the attack could have been a result of the region’s internal struggles.
“Hundreds of children have been killed and countless women raped in the region... thus, the attack could be an internal reaction. You can't blame everything on Pakistan and just get away with it,” he said.
He also said that India’s decision to revoke the ‘Most Favourable Status’ for Pakistan was unfortunate.
When asked if Pakistan would commit to taking action if India gives evidence against JeM and its chief Masood Azhar, he said:
“If there is evidence, why not? But the Indian media elite are used to putting everything on Pakistan without presenting any evidence,” he added.
When asked if Pakistan will support India’s bid to list Azhar as a “global terrorist’ by the UN if there is ample evidence, he remained non-committal.
“There are many versions of Jaish... there must be evidence if you want cooperation from Pakistan,” Chaudhry said.
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