The Pakistani official calls for an international investigation into a Kashmir terrorist attack

On Friday, the Pakistani Defense Minister announced the innocence of his country in a terrorist attack that killed 26 people this week in the disputed lands of Kashmir, which is controlled by India, and said that an international investigation was needed in the attack.

In an interview, Minister Khawaja Mohamed Asif said that the country is “ready to cooperate” with “any investigation by international inspectors.”

The minister’s statements seem to be aimed at defusing tensions with India, after armed militants attacked a tourist group on Tuesday near Pahalgam, a city in the southern part of Kashmir. This bloody terrorist attack was on the Indian -run -running lands for years.

In the days after that, India has moved quickly to take steps against Pakistan, which also controls part of Kashmir, including by closing the border crossings and hanging a decisive water agreement. India officials said they are suspected of involvement in at least two Pakistani citizens in the attack.

Mr. Asif said that India used the effects of the terrorist attack as an excuse to suspend the water treaty and for local political purposes. He said that India is taking steps to punish Pakistan “without any evidence, without any investigation.”

Pakistani officials asked the Trump administration to mediate the conflict.

Mr. Asif said: “We do not want this war to explode, because the ignition of this war can cause a disaster for this region.”

The last militant major assault occurred in the Indian part of Kashmir in 2019, when dozens of Indian security personnel were killed. After this attack, India Air raids were fired at Pakistan.

Washington officials did not attribute the attack in Kashmir this week to any group. It was reported that an unknown group called the Resistance Front claimed responsibility.

But the United States and other countries are cautious about the effects of the attack. The loss of lives has led to sharp measures from India, and Western officials worried that tensions between two nuclear armed neighbors can go out of control.

However, Trump administration officials expressed his support for India. In India this week, a journey that came after Toulcy Gabbard, director of national intelligence, was a speech last month in New Delhi on the importance of international peace.

Pakistan and India closed border crossings and took measures against diplomats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi from India said this week that his country would punish “all terrorists and their supporters.”

“The spirit of India will not be broken by terrorism,” he said.

Indian officials say the group whose responsibility for the attack is an agent of Lashkar-E-TAIBA, a group behind Mumbai attacks in 2008.

Mr. Aarf, the disputed claim. He said that Lashkar-E-TAIBA was “noticing” and had no ability to plan or launch attacks from Pakistan’s lands.

“They have ended, they have no preparation in Pakistan,” he said. “These people, whatever the rest of them, are contained. Some of them are arrested at home, and some are in reservation. They are not active at all.”

US officials said Lashkar-E-TAIBA has shown signs of activity in recent years, and its leader with him He lived in the open in Pakistan.

Mr. Asif suggested that the attack may be carried out by local separatist groups in Kashmir pushing more local control.

He added that Pakistan does not support separatist groups in India. But other Pakistani officials said this does not apply to Kashmir. Last week, the Commander of the Pakistani army described Kashmir, “the vitiliganian vein” as his country and said, “We will not leave the Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle that they are witnessing against the Indian occupation.”

Mr. Asif also suggested, without evidence, that the attack could have been a “false flag” carried out by the Indian government to raise a crisis.

He said that Pakistan had no terrorist attack on civilians. He added that the Indian government was using it to support Marshal and get out of the water treaty.

The World Bank negotiated the India and Pakistan Treaty, which was signed by India and Pakistan in 1960. By suspending the treaty, India can at some point the flow of rivers to Pakistan, which cuts off the country’s water source for irrigation and human consumption.

Mr. Asif, who previously held the position of Pakistan Minister in charge of water supply, said that during the past decade, India was trying to get out of the treaty, which was a source of stability in the region, said Mr. Asif, who previously held the position of Pakistan Minister in charge of water supply, said that during the past decade, India was trying to get out of the treaty, which was a source of stability in the region.

“They were making excuses. They were creating problems that did not exist,” he said. “They have now found an excuse to get out of this arrangement.”

Mujib Mashal It contributed to the reports from New Delhi.