Islamabad/Srinagar, Feb 12: Pakistan warned India against cross-border strikes after Indian authorities blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) for an attack on an Army camp in which soldiers and their families were targeted.
Saturday’s attack on the Sunjuwan camp in Jammu was the worst in months, with five soldiers and the father of one of the soldiers killed and women and children among the ten wounded.
India said the heavily armed attackers were members of the JeM, drawing criticism from Pakistan about rushing to judgment without a full inquiry.
“It is a well established pattern that Indian officials begin making irresponsible statements and levelling unfounded allegations, even before any proper investigation in any incident has been initiated,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
India, it said, was making these allegations to divert attention from its brutality in trying to control the armed revolt in Kashmir, and warned against any retaliatory measures across the Line of Control (LoC).
“We hope that the international community would urge India to stop the untold atrocities and gross violations of human rights in Kashmir (and) refrain from any misadventure across the Line of Control…” it said.
India has long accused Pakistan of training and arming terrorists and helping them infiltrate across the heavily militarised LoC into Jammu and Kashmir.
The head of the Jammu & Kashmir state police, SP Vaid, told reporters over the weekend that they had communication intercepts pointing to the JeM, which has emerged as a top group fighting hundreds of thousands of Indian forces in Kashmir.
In 2016, India carried out surgical strikes after 18 soldiers were killed in an attack on the Uri base in Kashmir. The Army said the attackers wore fatigues and had assault rifles, a UBGL and grenades.
Pakistan denies giving material aid to the fighters in Kashmir and says it only provides diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri people in ‘their struggle for self-determination’.
On Monday, Indian soldiers foiled an attack on CRPF camp in Srinagar. An encounter is currently ongoing between the terrorists and the security forces, and one CRPF jawan has been martyred.
Reuters
