Jaish already facing sanctions, claims Pak

Islamabad, February 17

Pakistan on Sunday said Jaish-e-Mohammad, which claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack, was banned in 2002 and Islamabad was fulfilling its obligations on sanctions as per the law.

In a major diplomatic offensive against Islamabad after the attack, India has highlighted Pakistan’s role in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

India has slammed Pakistan for stating that it had no role in the Pulwama attack carried out by Pakistan-based terror group JeM, saying Islamabad could not claim that it was unaware of the presence of terror groups on its soil as the links of such outfits to the country were there for everyone to see.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said: “JeM has claimed responsibility for the attack. The organisation and its leadership are located in Pakistan.”

But Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal rejected India’s allegation that Pakistan was behind the attack.

Faisal said Pakistan rejected India’s allegations because these were made within a short time from the attack and without carrying out any investigations. “These knee-jerk and pre-conceived accusations were nevertheless consistent with well-rehearsed tactics from Indian playbook after such incidents in the past,” he said.

As for Indian assertions about “JeM claims of responsibility” and purported “video of the attacker”, he questioned the selective and self-serving standards that India adhered to in this respect.

Faisal said on the one hand, India accepted the unverified social media content as “gold standard” but was not ready to accept the “confessions” by its national Kulbhushan Jadhav for perpetrating violence in Pakistan. — PTI

‘Banned since 2002’

JeM remains a proscribed entity in Pakistan since 2002 and Pakistan is implementing its obligations on sanctions implementation. —Mohd Faisal, Pak Foreign Office Spokesman

India rebuts claim

JeM and its leadership are located in Pakistan. Pakistani ministers had shared the same podium with UN-proscribed terrorists. —Raveesh Kumar, Mea Spokesman