GUWAHATI: Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has referred to the perpetrators of the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir as “freedom fighters”.
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Making the remarks on Thursday, April 24, in response to India's diplomatic actions following the incident, Dar stated that those behind the attack could be viewed as freedom fighters and described India’s move on the treaty as “tantamount to an act of war”. He also warned of consequences, saying Pakistan would respond in a “tit-for-tat” manner.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif echoed similar sentiments, threatening retaliation if Pakistani citizens were harmed. He asserted that India would face consequences if any harm came to Pakistanis as a result of the current tensions.
In the wake of the attack, India announced a temporary suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. The decision was taken during a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening. India has also cancelled all visas issued to Pakistani nationals, including those who had travelled for medical treatment.
In response, the Pakistani government issued a statement following a National Security Committee meeting led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, declaring that any attempt by India to stop or divert Pakistan’s share of water under the treaty would be treated as an act of war.
The attack took place on Tuesday, April 22, in the Baisaran meadows area of Pahalgam, where 26 individuals, most of them tourists, were killed. The Resistance Front (TRF), a group associated with the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the killings.
