Pakistan’s Deputy PM Ishaq Dar has described those terrorists who attacked and killed tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday as ‘freedom fighters’.
He remarked amid further escalation of tension between the already deteriorated ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan, following the attack on Baisaran meadows on Tuesday that left the country shocked and drew worldwide condemnation.
“Those who carried out attacks in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam district on April 22 might be freedom fighters,” Dar, who is also the Pakistani Foreign Minister, was quoted as saying by News 18.
Pakistani Hindu Cricketer slams Dar
Former Pakistani Hindu spinner Danish Kaneria criticised Dar for his remark and said the Minister openly admitted to ‘state-sponsored terrorism’ with his comment.
Kaneria wrote on X: “When the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan calls terrorists ‘freedom fighters,’ it’s not just a disgrace — it’s an open admission of state-sponsored terrorism.”
Pahalgam attack
The picturesque Baisaran meadow, which attracts thousands of tourists every year, echoed with the sounds of guns and the wails of victims on Tuesday afternoon when terrorists, who were apparently in camouflage, gunned down 26 people.
According to reports, terrorists asked the victims to chant Islamic verse and even pulled down their pants to check circumcision in a bid to confirm their Hindu identities and then opened fire on them.
A Nepali national was also killed in the attack.
India, Pakistan crisis
Tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours has increased after the Pahalgam terror attack, an incident that triggered worldwide condemnation.
India announces strict measures
India on Thursday formally informed Pakistan about its decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, which will come into effect immediately in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
The letter came shortly after Islamabad’s tit-for-tat move against New Delhi’s diplomatic actions following the Pahalgam massacre.
Islamabad has threatened to suspend all agreements between the two countries, including the Simla Pact of 1972, which validates the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, media reports said.