Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif today said he’s ready for a “neutral investigation” of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam where 26 people, including a Nepalese national, were gunned down.
The terror attack, one of the deadliest since the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019, has triggered high-level diplomatic and security responses from the government against Pakistan, which has been accused of harbouring the handlers and backers of this terrorist group.
Addressing a graduation ceremony at the Pakistan Military Academy in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Kakul, Prime Minister Sharif said that his country is open to taking part in a “credible” investigation.
“The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt. Continuing with its role as a responsible country, Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation,” Mr Sharif said.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy for the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan has often been accused of harbouring and funding terror groups engaged in cross-border infiltrations.
“Pakistan has always condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Mr Sharif added.
Mr Sharif’s remark comes a day after Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in an interview with New York Times said that Pakistan was “ready to cooperate” with “any investigation which is conducted by international inspectors”.
(NDTV)