Pakistan and India on Friday summoned each other's diplomats amid escalation in tension between the two countries in the wake of Pulwama attack wherein 44 paramilitary soldiers were killed, which was reportedly claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad. Indian Deputy High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia was summoned to Foreign Office by Additional Secretary Asia Pacific and lodged a strong protest over baseless allegations by India in the aftermath of the attack in the occupied Kashmir.
While rejecting the unfounded allegations of India with regard to the Pulwama attack, Foreign Office sources said that a strong demarche was handed over to the top Indian diplomat. Meanwhile, Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said that Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua on Friday briefed the Islamabad based P5 [permanent five members of the US Security Council] ambassadors at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and rejected Indian allegations on Pulwama attack.
"She [Janjua] noted a familiar Indian pattern of immediate and reflexive assignment of blame on Pakistan without investigations," the spokesperson said, adding that the foreign secretary also stated that Pakistan has pursued a constructive approach towards India. "Pakistan's offer of dialogue and the Kartarpur initiative are a clear evidence of this. Ratcheting up tensions in the region will be counterproductive," Janjua was further quoted by the spokesperson to have conveyed to the P5 ambassadors during the meeting.
Earlier, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood in New Delhi and issued a very strong demarche in connection with the terrorist attack. Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told a press briefing in New Delhi that the cabinet has decided to initiate steps to ensure complete diplomatic isolation of Pakistan and also announced the MFN status to Pakistan has also been withdrawn. "The MFN [Most Favoured Nation] status that had been granted to Pakistan stands withdrawn," Jaitley was further quoted by Indian media.
Modi's government also called its High Commissioner in Islamabad Ajay Bisaria for consultations and he left for New Delhi on Friday night. In the deadliest attack ever on security forces in the Indian occupied Kashmir, 44 Indian Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed and several others were injured when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100kg of explosives into a convoy of 70 vehicles in Pulwama district on Thursday.
Soon after the attack, Indian ministers and media launched a propaganda campaign alleging Pakistan's involvement in the attack. Pakistan, however, rejected the allegations, saying the attack in Pulwama in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is a matter of grave concern. "We have always condemned heightened acts of violence in the Valley. We strongly reject any insinuation by elements in the Indian government and media circles that seek to link the attack to the State of Pakistan without investigations," Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said in a statement on Thursday night.
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