India puts blame on us without probe, we reject claims: Pak

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Pakistan on Sunday rejected India’s assertion that it had a hand in the terror attack on an army camp at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir, saying New Delhi should share “actionable intelligence” on the incident with Islamabad.

Soon after Indian home minister Rajnath Singh pointed a finger at Pakistan for its “continued and direct support” to terror groups, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria dismissed the accusation. “India immediately puts blame on Pakistan without doing any investigation. We reject this,” Zakaria told Reuters.

A statement from the InterServices Public Relations, the Pakistan Army’s media wing, later in the day referred to the hotline contact between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) and sought intelligence on the terror attack. “Refuting the unfounded and premature Indian allegations, the Pakistan DGMO asked his counterpart to share any actionable intelligence,” it said.

The latest situation on the Line of Control was discussed and the Pakistan DGMO “reiterated that no infiltration is allowed from Pakistan’s soil because water tight arrangements were in place on both sides of LoC/working boundary all along”, the statement added.

The attack was extensively covered by Pakistani news channels and foreign office officials privately said Pakistan condemns the attack. “We condemn terrorist actions in all forms,” said an official.

By blaming Pak for Uri & any attempt to escalate tension to deflect attention from state terrorism in Kashmir will prove expensive for Indians. KHAWAJA ASIF, Pak defence minister, in a tweet

Adding to the uncertainty in bilateral relations were remarks by Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif that his country would not hesitate to use tactical nuclear weapons in the event of an attack by India. But Asif made the comments in an interview with Geo News channel that was recorded before the attack and aired on Saturday night.

His remarks were aired again after the attack and picked up by Indian media. In response to a question about the possibility of hostilities with India, Asif said: “I don’t think there is any immediate threat (of a war with India) but as Allah has said in the Quran, the horses should be ready. Our readiness should be complete at all times…The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”