India diverting attention from Kashmir: Pak on Uri attack

Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday accused India of misleading the world opinion to cover up its "reign of terror" in Kashmir by a spate of "vitriolic" and "unsubstantiated" statements following the terror attack in Uri that killed 17 soldiers. "Pakistan has noted with serious concern the recent spate of vitriolic and unsubstantiated statements emanating from Indian civil and military leadership in the aftermath of yesterdays attack" in Uri, Sartaj Aziz, the advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, said. He said Pakistan categorically rejects the baseless and irresponsible accusations being levelled by senior officials in Prime Minister Narendra Modis Government. "It is a blatant attempt on Indias part to deflect attention from the fast deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation" in Kashmir since the death of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani. He said that the situation in Kashmir is not of Pakistans making but a direct consequence of "illegal Indian occupation and a long history of atrocities that has resulted in over a 100 thousand deaths". "Nobody has been spared the brute state force including the elderly, wounded patients in hospitals as women and children. This should awaken international conscience," Aziz said. Reacting to Home Minister Rajnath Singhs statement Pakistan is a "terrorist state" and should be isolated, Aziz said that it was deplorable that the Indian Minister chose to blame Pakistan for the incident even prior to conducting proper investigation. "The statement is part of a pattern to mislead world opinion and cover up Indias reign of terror in Kashmir, the statement said. Heavily-armed militants stormed a battalion headquarters of the Indian Army in North Kashmirs Uri town in the wee hours yesterday, killing 17 jawans and injuring 19 other personnel in the attack in which all four terrorists were neutralised. It was the worst attack on the Indian Army in many years.