ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, alongside DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, are holding a joint press conference as tensions escalate between Pakistan and India following the deadly attack on tourists in the Pahalgam area of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The presser comes as the two nuclear-armed neighbours are experiencing a period of heightened tensions since the April 22 attack on tourists in the scenic resort town, in which at least 26 people were killed.
New Delhi linked Islamabad to the attack without offering any evidence and took a flurry of punitive measures to downgrade ties, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, revoking visas of Pakistanis, and closing Wagah-Attari border crossing, among others.
Islamabad, in response, ordered the expulsion of Indian diplomats and military advisers, cancelling visas for Indian nationals, with the exception of Sikh pilgrims, and closing the main border crossing from its side.
Pakistan also denies its involvement in the attack and offered to take part in a credible and transparent investigation.
With Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warning that the escalation could escalate into an “all-out war”, the United Nations has urged Pakistan and India to show “maximum restraint” to ensure that the situation and the developments do not deteriorate any further.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said that Pakistan has credible intelligence reports regarding military action by India in the next 24 to 36 hours.
“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to carry out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident,” Tarar said in a video statement issued late Tuesday.
A day earlier, the Pakistan Army shot down two Indian quadcopter drones near the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
‘Irrefutable evidence’
Briefing the media a day earlier, DG ISPR presented “irrefutable” evidence of Indian-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan, days after New Delhi accused Islamabad of the Pahalgam attack in IIOJK.
โIndia is involved in state-sponsored cross-border terrorism against Pakistan,โ Lt Gen Chaudhry categorically stated.
โIt has been seven days since the Pahalgam attack, yet not a single shred of evidence has been provided to substantiate the baseless allegations levelled against Pakistan,โ he added.
The DG ISPR said that India has been found operating terror networks inside Pakistan, wherein explosives, IEDs, and other lethal materials are being supplied to terrorists with the intent to target not only security forces but also innocent civilians.
โThis irrefutable evidence is just one small component of the broader pattern of state-sponsored terrorism being orchestrated by India,โ he added.
This is a developing story and is being updated with further detailsย