Citing former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik’s interview with The Wire, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said that Islamabad has been vindicated from any allegations of its role in the Pulwama attack.
Pakistan’s Statement
On Sunday, a Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson said Malik’s interview displays Indian PM Narendra Modi’s use of “the bogey of terrorism from Pakistan” to further New Delhi’s “sham victimhood and the Hindutva agenda.” The spokesperson added that the international community must hold India accountable for the revelations in the interview.
Malik’s Interview
Malik was the last governor of Jammu and Kashmir before its special status was abrogated in August 2019. During his 14-month-long tenure, he witnessed the Pulwama attack and the scrapping of Article 370.
The Pulwama attack on 14 February 2019 worsened tensions between India and Pakistan, leading to the Balakot strike on 26 February, during which India targeted terrorist training centres in Pakistan.
🔊: PR NO. 7️⃣4️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) April 16, 2023
Latest Revelations about the Pulwama Attack Vindicate Pakistan
🔗⬇️https://t.co/6JzSkeqDfx pic.twitter.com/76GoF7n9dz
Regarding the Pulwama attack, Malik blamed the government for security lapses in the region. In particular, he blamed the “incompetence” of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Home Ministry, which was then led by current Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
He added that the 1,000-member CRPF convoy, which had to travel by road after the Home Ministry refused to provide it with five aircraft, was excessively long, making it an easy target for the attack.
Further, Malik said that when he informed PM Narendra Modi about the security lapses, both PM Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval asked him to remain silent about the mistakes of the Indian authorities. The former J&K leader highlighted that the Indian government wished to use the attack to vilify Pakistan while covering up its own mistakes.
Nevertheless, Malik clarified that the 300 kilograms of RDX explosives that caused the blast had to be from Pakistan. “The amount of explosives provided to that fellow could not be done internally. It was Pakistan, only, that arranged it.”
In an extraordinarily revealing interview with Karan Thapar, Satyapal Malik says that the CRPF had asked for aircrafts ahead of the Pulwama tragedy, and the request was denied by the Union govt.
— The Wire (@thewire_in) April 14, 2023
Full interview here: https://t.co/47ENX7WzM2 pic.twitter.com/7vISmPFGtz
However, he lamented that the vehicle carrying the explosives had been in Kashmiri villages for 10-12 days prior to the attack, and remained undetected throughout that period.
On Jammu and Kashmir’s Special Status
Among other things, Malik also spoke about the Centre’s decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
On being questioned about his statement reassuring that the special status of Jammu and Kashmir would not be revoked just weeks after Article 370 was abrogated, Malik said that he was not informed about the government’s intentions.
He added that if the Modi government had consulted him, he would have advised them against dividing the state and demoting it to the Union Territory status, as the decision has deeply hurt Kashmiri sentiments. He explained that New Delhi’s decision sought to ensure that the police in the region were under the central government’s control and not the governor or assembly.