+ A
A -
AFP
Islamabad
Pakistan is ready to help India investigate the deadliest blast in Kashmir in decades, but will retaliate if Delhi attacks, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Tuesday as tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals soared.
Khan used a nationally televised address to demand Delhi share proof of Islamabad’s alleged involvement in last week’s suicide blast, which killed 41 people in Indian-held Kashmir and unleashed a fresh diplomatic crisis over the disputed Himalayan region.
If India attacks, “Pakistan won’t just think to retaliate. Pakistan will retaliate,” said Khan in the address.
Islamabad has denied involvement. “If you have some actionable intelligence about involvement of Pakistanis, give it to us, I guarantee you that we will take action,” Khan said Tuesday, adding that Pakistan was “ready to talk” about terrorism with India. It was “easy to start a war”, he said, adding that he hopes “better sense will prevail”. Khan said on Tuesday that if any militant group was using Pakistani soil to launch attacks, “its enmity is with us. This is against our interest”. Earlier Tuesday, Pakistani FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi pleaded with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to intervene in the escalating row.
“The UN must step in to defuse tensions,” wrote Qureshi in a message shared with journalists. On Monday Saudi Arabia vowed to “de-escalate” the situation during a high-profile state visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Islamabad. He is also due in India this week.
Kashmir is one of the world’s most militarised zones, with some 500,000 Indian troops deployed to fight a rebellion that broke out in 1989.
Islamabad
Pakistan is ready to help India investigate the deadliest blast in Kashmir in decades, but will retaliate if Delhi attacks, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Tuesday as tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals soared.
Khan used a nationally televised address to demand Delhi share proof of Islamabad’s alleged involvement in last week’s suicide blast, which killed 41 people in Indian-held Kashmir and unleashed a fresh diplomatic crisis over the disputed Himalayan region.
If India attacks, “Pakistan won’t just think to retaliate. Pakistan will retaliate,” said Khan in the address.
Islamabad has denied involvement. “If you have some actionable intelligence about involvement of Pakistanis, give it to us, I guarantee you that we will take action,” Khan said Tuesday, adding that Pakistan was “ready to talk” about terrorism with India. It was “easy to start a war”, he said, adding that he hopes “better sense will prevail”. Khan said on Tuesday that if any militant group was using Pakistani soil to launch attacks, “its enmity is with us. This is against our interest”. Earlier Tuesday, Pakistani FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi pleaded with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to intervene in the escalating row.
“The UN must step in to defuse tensions,” wrote Qureshi in a message shared with journalists. On Monday Saudi Arabia vowed to “de-escalate” the situation during a high-profile state visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Islamabad. He is also due in India this week.
Kashmir is one of the world’s most militarised zones, with some 500,000 Indian troops deployed to fight a rebellion that broke out in 1989.
