Sharif accuses India of double standards on Kashmir

Sharif’s remarks came as General Peter Pavel, Chairman Military Committee NATO, called on the Prime Minister here. According to an official statement, Sharif said on the occasion that India was creating problems and has resorted to double standards on the issue of Kashmir. He said that “India unfairly blamed Pakistan for Uri attack without investigating the incident,” according to the statement. He said Pakistan would continue to extend moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmir cause. Sharif said that “the atrocities by the Indian forces have resulted into the loss of precious human lives and blinded hundreds through the use of brutal force”.

Sharif also reiterated desire for peaceful ties with India. “We want peaceful relations with all of our neighbours,” he said. Meanwhile, Sharif in an unprecedented move has warned the powerful military not to shield banned militant groups and directed authorities to conclude the Pathankot terror attack probe and the 2008 Mumbai attack trials, a leading Pakistani daily reported on Thursday. 

Sharif’s orders came after a series of meetings between military and civilian leaders, Dawn newspaper said. The government delivered a “blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented warning” to the military leadership and sought consensus on several key actions, including action against banned militant groups, the paper quoted unnamed individuals, who were involved in the meetings.

Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif on Thursday accused India of spreading a “litany of falsehoods” and warned that any aggression or a “strategic miscalculation” against his country will not go unpunished. “We have recently witnessed an unfortunate display of utter desperation” playing out inside Kashmir and along the Line of Control through a “litany of falsehoods and distortion of facts by India”, Raheel said while addressing the passing out ceremony of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) cadets in Risalpur, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

“We expect international community to condemn Indian insinuations and fabrications about a nation that has made unparalleled contributions in the global fight against terrorism,” he said. Raheel’s comments assume significance as they come amidst the strain in Indo-Pak ties after the Uri terror attack and India’s surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan claims no surgical strikes have taken place.

“We will be highly relentless in defending our motherland against entire spectrum of threat. I am confident that with the united resolve of our nation and its armed forces, those inimical to regional peace will not be allowed to succeed. Their evil plots and plans will be defeated,” he said. Raheel claimed that “enemies” of Pakistan’s peace and prosperity have been distressed by the sight of the country’s “successes”. “These enemies will now attempt to accelerate their efforts to reverse our gains and derail our progress through direct and indirect strategy,” he asserted.