ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf said on Tuesday India was involved in high-profile terror attacks in Pakistan, including Peshawar’s Army Public School in 2014.
In an interview with Indian journalist Karan Thapar, Dr Moeed Yusuf said India was involved in terrorist attacks on Chinese Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan Stock Exchange building, a five-star hotel in Gwadar and Peshawar APS.
“Islamabad has solid proof of New Delhi’s involvement in these four attacks and links of India with terrorism,” he said. He said Pakistan knew the names and ranks of officers in touch with terrorists’ leaders and would soon reveal Indian activities to the world through a detailed dossier based on lengthy investigations.
The SAPM revealed that Indian intelligence handlers based in Afghanistan had directed the attacks on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, PC Hotel in Gwadar and the PSX in the last two years. He also revealed the BLA terrorists were getting treatment in a New Delhi hospital.
Moeed Yusuf said India had recently spent a million dollars on the merger of Tehrik-Taliban Pakistan and four other terrorist groups in Afghanistan under the supervision of a RAW official.
He told the Indian journalist that the mastermind of the APS attack was in contact with the Indian Consulate and he also had the phone number of his handler. “We have solid evidence of India’s involvement in the attack in which 144 innocent children were massacred,” he said.
He also disclosed that the Indian Embassy in Kabul was using think-tanks there as a front to funnel money for carrying out terrorism in Pakistan.
The SAPM went on to say that Aslam, alias Achhu, who was involved in the terror attack on the Chinese Consulate, had been treated in a New Delhi hospital, which amply proved India’s involvement in terrorism.
Dr Yusuf said Pakistan stood firmly for peace in the region through dialogue, but New Delhi’s draconian policies towards Kashmiris had made talks impossible. He reiterated Prime Minister Imran Khan’s stance that if India took one step forward, Pakistan would move two steps ahead. He said that New Delhi must release all political prisoners in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK), lift the military siege, reverse the domicile bill and stop all human rights violations against Kashmiris before any dialogue could begin.
He reminded Indian audiences that even pro-India Kashmiri politicians had publicly admitted that no one in IOJK was willing to live under Indian occupation anymore. Dr Yusuf emphasized that Pakistan considered Kashmiris as the principal party to the dispute and their aspirations should be addressed in any dialogue.
Drawing a contrast between Pakistan and India, Dr Yusuf said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government was dedicated to pursuing economic security and connectivity for the prosperity of Pakistan and the region, but policy-makers in New Delhi were pursuing the Hindutva ideology. He said India had lost the neighbourhood because of the expansionist policies of the BJP government while Pakistan was pursuing peace in its neighbourhood.
Responding to Indian allegations about terrorism, Dr Yusuf said that Pakistan had facilitated investigations into all cases pending with courts but India was delaying the process by not providing evidence to the case. He said not finding a resolution to terror cases helped India in its false narrative of terrorism. He called out India for being unable to bring the perpetrators of the Samjhota and Babri Masjid cases, Malegaon blast case and others to justice while it accused Pakistan of delays.
Responding to questions about Kulbhushan Jadev, the Security Adviser said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had given three binding observations, including review or reconsideration of conviction, halt to death penalty and consular access to him.
He denied the allegations Kulbhushan was not given the unimpeded and unconditional consular access. “Pakistan gave consular access to Kulbhusan twice as per ICG observation and for the third time the Indian agent said he wanted to file a mercy petition against his conviction.
Dr Yusuf said Pakistan stood by UNSC resolutions as the way forward for resolving the dispute and fulfilling the aspirations of over eight million Kashmiris. He said Indian propaganda would not shake Pakistan from its principled stance on Kashmir.
The SAPM said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed his office to open space for the government in the region and find solutions to lingering problems, but his counterpart in India was pursuing an opposite direction.
He highlighted that Pakistan stood for peace and would welcome any dialogue with India if the lives of Kashmiris in IIOJK were normalised, Kashmiris were recognized as the rightful principal party to any dialogue, and India stopped sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan. He also cited Pakistan’s response on Feb 27, 2019 and warned that any misadventure from India would result in an equally swift response from Pakistan.
Dr Moeed Yousuf said those were the people of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) who initiated a public debate on making GB as the fifth province of Pakistan but the government had so far taken no decision on it. “The people of GB have initiated a public debate because they want to be an integral part of Pakistan,” he said.
He said whatever decision is taken, it would not be against United Nations (UN) charter, UN Security Council’s resolutions or Simla Agreement whereas the Indian government had been saying it would resolve issues unilaterally.
