India blaming us without probe: Pakistan

Pakistan on Sunday told foreign envoys here that India was blaming it for a horrific suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir even without any investigation.

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua said this to diplomats from Africa and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.

The Dawn newspaper quoted Janjua as saying that there was "a familiar pattern of India blaming Pakistan instantly after such incidents without any investigation", Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal tweeted.

The Pakistan Foreign Office said a "deliberate anti-Pakistan frenzy is being spurred in India" and warned that "baseless Indian allegations and aggressive rhetoric are counterproductive and a threat to regional peace".

Islamabad's statement came three days after the Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Pulwama district that killed 49 troopers.

Pakistan said it had rejected India's allegations of its complicity because they were "made within a short time from the attack and without carrying out any investigations.

"These knee-jerk and preconceived accusations were nevertheless consistent with well-rehearsed tactics from the Indian playbook after such incidents in the past," the Foreign Office statement added.

"Bluster, belligerence and pursuit of expedient standards to suit internal political interests is both delusional and counterproductive.

"India must come out of the denial mode, end state repression against Kashmiri youth, address widespread alienation in (Jammu and Kashmir) and pursue the path of dialogue," the statement said.

The Foreign Office also raised questions over India's acceptance of a video released by the attacker claiming to have ties to the JeM, saying New Delhi had double standards.

"India needs to introspect and respond to questions about its security and intelligence lapses that led to this attack," it said. "India owes an explanation on reports of (suicide bomber) Adil Ahmed Dar's arrest and custody since 2017."

--IANS

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