Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A statement issued after a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) called on the suggestion of the Armed Forces on Monday said that the council unanimously dismissed former premier Nawaz Sharif’s recent statement on the 2008 Mumbai attacks, terming it incorrect and misleading.

The statement said that the council, meeting with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in chair, conducted a detailed review of Nawaz’s statement.

The meeting unanimously rejected the allegations and condemned the fallacious assertions, according to the statement. It observed that India had denied Pakistani investigators access to Ajmal Kasab, the convicted attacker who was hanged by India.

Further, the statement said that Kasab’s hurried hanging by India impeded the investigation of the case, adding that India repeatedly denied assistance in the probe while there was complete cooperation from Pakistan.

“At the same time, Pakistan continues to wait for cooperation from India on the infamous Kulbhushan Jadhav and Samjhota Express episodes,” it said, adding, “Pakistan will continue its efforts to eliminate terrorism on all fronts.”

The top brass of the military, including Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar attended the meeting, held at the PM House. Moreover, the chiefs of the navy and air force also attended the meeting, as did directors general of military operations and military intelligence.

In a recent interview printed in daily Dawn, Nawaz had said, “Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial?”

His remarks were played up by Indian media and presented as an admission of Pakistan’s involvement in the terrorist attack, even though similar statements have been made by civilian and security officials in Pakistan earlier.

Published in Daily Times, May 15^th 2018.