Pakistan Denies Involvement in Pahalgam Attack, Blames “Internal Unrest” in India

New Delhi | April 23, 2025 — A brutal terrorist assault claimed 28 lives in Pahalgam. The next day, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif rejected allegations of any Pakistani involvement. He called the violence a result of internal unrest within India.

Asif’s Response Amid Mounting Tensions

Asif made his first public statement since the attack. Speaking on Pakistan’s Live 92 News channel, he firmly denied any role of Islamabad in the massacre. He termed it a “home-grown” rebellion. “This is India’s internal matter,” he said, citing unrest across various Indian states such as Nagaland, Kashmir, Manipur, and Chhattisgarh. “These are uprisings, not foreign interventions,” he asserted.

The remarks came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned early from a diplomatic visit to Saudi Arabia. He needed to handle the aftermath of the attack in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley. In this attack, unarmed Hindu tourists were gunned down by suspected militants of The Resistance Front.

Shifting Blame to India

Doubling down on his position, Asif accused Indian forces of suppressing minorities, claiming such repression is fueling resistance. “People across India — Christians, Buddhists, Muslims — are reacting to Hindutva-driven policies,” he alleged.

Asif went further, accusing India of orchestrating disturbances in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. “We’ve presented evidence of Indian involvement in Balochistan’s unrest. We have done this repeatedly.” He claimed this while trying to counter the long-standing Indian narrative about cross-border terrorism.

India Yet to Respond

So far, India has not officially reacted to Asif’s claims. The central government has focused on emergency security operations in Jammu & Kashmir. Search teams, drones, and helicopters are sweeping dense forests to track down the attackers. Public outrage continues to rise. Candlelight marches occur across cities. People show acts of solidarity. These include free taxi rides for victims’ families and blood donation drives by locals.

Diplomatic Fallout Likely

As the investigation into the attack continues, Asif’s comments are likely to worsen diplomatic ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Islamabad denies harboring militant groups. However, India has consistently maintained that terrorist activity in Jammu & Kashmir is orchestrated and supported from across the border.

With tensions at a boiling point, we may see strong diplomatic responses in the coming days. There may also be renewed calls for international intervention to curb terrorism in South Asia.