Pahalgam | Pakistan

Pakistan rejected Indian propaganda linking it to the 2025 Pahalgam attack on Thursday, deploring that the neighbouring country was focusing on “weaponising its false narrative” in the midst on an ongoing regional crisis. The April 22, 2025 attack in Pahalgam saw 26 people, mostly tourists, killed in what is being described as the deadliest armed attack in the disputed Himalayan region since the year 2000. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan without any evidence. For its part, Pakistan strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral investigation. On the attack’s one year anniversary, some in India appeared to link Pakistan again with terrorism. Meanwhile, the Indian army also said that a “response is assured” against acts of terrorism. Subsequently, without referring to any particular instance, the Foreign Office (FO) in Islamabad said in a statement: “At a time when Pakistan, along with its international partners, is undertaking concerted diplomatic efforts for regional and international peace ...

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday reiterated that the Pahalgam incident was a false flag operation, stating India has failed to substantiate its allegations against Pakistan even after one year.

Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar hit out at India over the Pahalgam attack, calling it a "false flag operation" that indicates what he relates as a "hollow and irrational mindset.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday said that even a year on, India has failed to provide evidence for its allegations against Pakistan over the Pahalgam attack. The April 22, 2025 attack in Pahalgam saw 26 people, mostly tourists, killed in what is being described as the deadliest armed attack in the disputed Himalayan region since the year 2000. “To this day, India has not presented any solid evidence or proof regarding the Pahalgam incident, nor has it offered satisfactory explanations,” Tarar said in a televised statement issued on the incident’s anniversary. He recalled India’s refusal to accept Pakistan’s offer for a neutral and transparent investigation into the Pahalgam attack, adding that it “raises serious questions and suggests that the incident may have been a false flag operation”. “The false flag operation in Pahalgam reflects a mindset that is hollow — driven by false pride, arrogance and greed,” he contended. “Let me make it very clear that this was the last false flag operation ...

ISLAMABAD: United Nations (UN) experts have expressed concerns that India’s “unlawful use of force“ on Pakistan’s territory in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir appears to have “violated the rights to life and security of person”, it emerged on Friday. This observation by UN special rapporteurs was made in a report dated October 16, which was made public on December 15. The report outlined India‘s military response to the Pahalgam attack, as well as New Delhi’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in “abeyance” following the incident. The five UN experts who compiled the report also observed that New Delhi’s actions that “may be taken to disrupt the flow of water to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty” appeared to risk violating the rights to work and livelihood, an adequate standard of living — including the rights to water and food — a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and development. The attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 resulted...

India’s counter-terrorism agency said on Monday that it had filed charges against six people in connection with a deadly attack on tourists in India-occupied Kashmir. The chargesheet from India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) “charged the banned LeT/TRF as a legal entity for its role in planning, facilitating and executing the Pahalgam attack,” an agency statement alleged. The Lashkar-e-Taiba was banned in 2002 by the Pakistan government during the rule of then-military ruler Pervez Musharraf. The Resistance Front – a little known oragnisation that was blamed by New Delhi for the attack – was recently designated as a terror group by the United States. Three of those named are dead, while two are said to be in Indian custody. The trio were killed by Indian security forces in a forest in held Kashmir weeks after the attack, according to NIA. Two local men, Parvaiz Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad Jothatd, arrested in June on charges of harbouring the attackers, have also been charged. Pahalgam was the site where gu...

United Nations experts on Monday sounded the alarm over “serious human rights violations” in Indian-occupied Kashmir by the Indian government, issuing the warning in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack. Pahalgam is the site where gunmen on April 22 killed 26 mostly Hindu tourists. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, which strongly denied the allegations while calling for a neutral investigation, triggering a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures that escalated into a four-day conflict. In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, Indian forces arrested more than 2,000 Kashmiris and demolished several homes in a sweeping crackdown. The arrests were carried out across multiple districts, including Srinagar, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Kupwara, Baramulla, Budgam, Islamabad, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam. “We unequivocally condemn the brutal terrorist attack on a tourist area and extend our condolences to the victims, their families, and the Government of India. However, all governments must respect international h...

The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Monday adopted a statement condemning terrorism in Pakistan and India amid tense ties between the two nations that have seen allegations against each other for alleged involvement in militant attacks. The Jaffar Express train was hijacked on March 11 when Balochistan Liberation Army terrorists ambushed the Peshawar-bound train carrying 440 passengers, opening fire and taking hostages. Security forces launched a two-day operation, concluding on March 12. On May 21, at least six people, including three students, were slain while over 40 others — mostly students — were injured after a bomb targeted a school bus near Zero Point in Khuzdar on the Quetta-Karachi highway when it was on its way to drop the students at the Army Public School in Khuzdar Cantonment. On April 22, assailants conducted an attack in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot in occupied Kashmir that draws thousands of visitors every summer. Gunmen opened fire on visitors, killing at least 26 pe...

Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Monday issued a joint declaration strongly condemning recent terrorist attacks in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, Pakistan’s Khuzdar district, and on the Jaffar Express.

The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s stance against terrorism, saying that the country has “effectively and comprehensively dismantled” terrorist outfits. The statement follows the US State Department’s decision on Thursday to designate a little-known group called The Resistance Front (TRF) — responsible for the Pahalgam attack — as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) and specially designated global terrorist (SDGT) group. The April 22 attack — which resulted in the deaths of 26 people — sparked a military confrontation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan as New Delhi blamed it on Islamabad, which strongly denied the allegations while calling for a neutral investigation. According to a BBC News report in June, the group had initially said it was behind the attack, but later disowned it. The US State Department claimed that the little-known group was a “front and proxy” of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). “TRF has also claimed responsibility for several attacks against Indian securi...

KARACHI: The US has designated the group, which claimed an attack in India-held Kashmir’s Pahalgam area, as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) and specially designated global terrorist (SDGT) group. Without any evidence, New Delhi had blamed Islamabad for the April 22 attack, which saw 26 people killed in the Baisaran hill station, and used it as a pretext to launch military strikes against Pakistan. According to a recent BBC News report, the group had initially said it was behind the attack, but later disowned it. Thursday’s statement from the State Department seemed to echo India’s viewpoint, which has claimed that the little-known newly-formed group was actually a “front and proxy” of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). India also blames the LeT for orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai attacks and several other attacks on military forces. The US earlier designated LeT as an FTO in December 2001. One of the first mentions of the group came in 2020, when then-Indian army chief M.M. Naravane accused Pakistan of cr...

India’s opposition parties have called for the governor of occupied Kashmir to resign with an apology to the people of the territory after he admitted to a “security failure” in the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. On April 22, 26 tourists were killed at a hill station in India-occupied Kashmir’s (IoK) Pahalgam. India has blamed Pakistan for the horrific attack, an accusation the latter denies. Islamabad has called for an international independent probe into the massacre. In an interview with the Times of India on Monday, IoK Lieutenant Governor and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manoj Sinha said, “I take full responsibility for the incident, which was undoubtedly a security failure.” In response to the admission, numerous Indian politicians slammed him for negligence and for his delay in taking accountability and called for his resignation. The Indian National Congress |(INC) suggested that Sinha intended to shield “unspecified officials” in the union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The ...

In an exclusive interview with Indian journalist Karan Thapar, PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said the Indian public was “lied to” by New Delhi about Pakistan’s alleged involvement in the Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir. The statement comes amid tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries in the wake of their recent military confrontation, sparked by New Delhi’s baseless allegations against Islamabad over the Pahalgam attack. In an interview with The Wire’s Thapar, the PPP chief said that had Pakistan been involved in the attack, evidence would have surfaced and the perpetrators identified. This is the first interview given by a Pakistani representative to Indian media since the military escalation. “As far as the Pahalgam terrorist attack is concerned, Pakistan has been willing to be part of an impartial international investigation; your government refused that,” Bilawal said. Notably, Bilawal led a delegation to present Pakistan’s case across the globe ...

Hindus began a vast month-long pilgrimage in India-occupied Kashmir (IoK) on Thursday, with many of the faithful starting from near the site where a deadly April attack triggered conflict with Pakistan. Last year, half a million devotees took part in the Amarnath pilgrimage to a sacred ice pillar located in a cave in the forested Himalayan hills above the town of Pahalgam. India has ramped up security for the event, deploying 45,000 troops with high-tech surveillance tools overseeing the gruelling trek to reach the high-altitude cave, dedicated to the Hindu deity of destruction Shiva. “We have multi-layered and in-depth security arrangements so that we can make the pilgrimage safe and smooth for the devotees,” said VK Birdi, police chief for the Muslim-majority territory. Pahalgam is the site where gunmen on April 22 killed 26 mostly Hindu tourists. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, which strongly denied the allegations while calling for a neutral investigation, triggering a series of tit-for-tat diplo...

The Quad grouping of the United States, India, Japan and Australia called on Tuesday for the perpetrators of a militant attack that killed 26 in India-occupied Kashmir to be brought to justice without delay. The April 22 attack in held Kashmir’s Pahalgam sparked heavy fighting between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan in the latest escalation of a decades-old rivalry as India blamed it on Pakistan, which strongly denied the allegations while calling for a neutral investigation. The US State Department issued a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the grouping, who met in Washington, but stopped short of naming Pakistan or blaming Islamabad. “The Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism,” the ministers said in the statement. They called on all members of the United Nations to cooperate actively with “all relevant authorities” in delivering justice to the “perpetrators, organisers, and financiers of this r...

PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday said that following the Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir and the brief but intense military escalation with Pakistan last month, India “lost its international credibility due to a lack of transparency and widespread disinformation”. Earlier this month, Pakis­tan launched a broad-based engagement campaign to present its perspective on the conflict with India to the world and counter New Delhi’s unproven allegations. As part of its global outreach, a delegation led by Bilawal visited the United States, London and Brussels. Addressing reporters at the National Press Club in Islamabad, the PPP chairman stressed that through spreading false information, both in the media and through diplomatic channels, India stripped itself of credibility. “Pakistan gained victory on the narrative front, which is beneficial,” Bilawal said. “The whole world saw what the Indian [and] Pakistani media were doing. “People all over the world were reading and a...

India’s counter-terrorism agency said on Sunday it has arrested two men in Indian-Occupied Kashmir for allegedly harbouring gunmen behind a deadly attack on civilians that sparked a days-long conflict between the two countries. India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed the two suspects were from the Pahalgam area, where gunmen killed 26 people two months ago. “The two men had provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists, who had… selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity,” a statement by NIA said. The agency identified the two men as Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, claiming the duo “have disclosed the identities of the three armed terrorists involved in the attack”. New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the attack without making public any evidence — an allegation that Islamabad denies. The April 22 killings triggered a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures by the nuclear-armed countries and led to intense exchanges of missile, dron...

The Foreign Office on Friday firmly rejected the “baseless and misleading remarks” made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his first visit to the Indian-held Kashmir after the Pahalgam attack. The indian premier arrived in occupied valley today to open a strategic railway line. According to Indian news media outlets, Modi, during his visit, said that Pakistan attacked ’insaniyat’ and Kashmiriyat’ (humanity and the Kashmiri identity) in Pahalgam. The Indian premier alleged that Pakistan was “also the enemy of poor’s bread and butter”. He warned that anyone trying to derail the development in Indian-held Kashmir would have to “face Narendra Modi first”. Responding to the Indian premier’s remarks, the foreign office today said: “Pakistan firmly rejects the baseless and misleading remarks made by the prime minister of India regarding the situation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.” It added that such statements represented a “deliberate attempt to deflect international attention from the grav...

WASHINGTON: The US has called upon both Pakistan and India to hold “direct talks” to bring down tensions and said it will support any effort, including a neutral probe, to ensure the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack are brought to justice. In a press briefing on Thursday, Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokesperson, said the US was aware of Pakistan’s offer for a neutral investigation into the attack. “Pakistan wants an independent investigation … and [the US] want the perpetrators to be held accountable, and we are supportive of any efforts to that end,” she added. When asked if the two neighbours have offered any commitments, Ms Bruce said Secretary Rubio had been clear on two things: “that this should not escalate” and “communication was fundamentally key”. When the spokesperson was asked if the US shared India’s view that Pakistan was supporting terrorist groups, she refrained from affirming the accusation. She said the Pahalgam attack was “awful”, but the “back and forth and continuation” of attack...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has directed health authorities to ensure free and immediate medical treatment for Pakistani patients who were forced to return from India without receiving care following the recent Pahalgam attack.