Lashkar-E-Tayyaba deputy chief Saifullah Kasuri aka Saifullah Khalid has outrightly denied playing any role in the deadly Pahalgam attack on Tuesday that killed at least 26 lives. A video going viral on social media shows Kasuri calling out the Indian media for “wrongfully” blaming him and Pakistan for the attacks.
Khalid blamed India for destroying Pakistan’s reputation and urged the rest of the world to “not support India blindly, and instead, stand with the truth”. He went on to claim that India “created drama as they were themselves behind the attack”. He said that the Pahalgam attack had nothing to do with Pakistan or any of its groups or organisations.
The video has ben shared online and people have been expressing their outrage to Kasuri’s statement. One of the users on X said, “Indian Army will put a bullet in your head the same way you killed Dwivedi in front of his wife. India will retaliate this time and hopefully last time too.”
Another user wrote, “The fear of unknown was already there from past 12 months. Now he knows that India will and should retaliate with NO MERCY.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had also claimed that “Pakistan had nothing to do with it”. Asif too had claimed that the attack was not linked to any external forces but was a result of growing anger against the Indian Union government. He pointed to ongoing unrest in several regions, including Nagaland, Kashmir, Manipur, and Chhattisgarh, saying the attack reflected internal issues. According to him, these protests and violence are happening because people feel exploited by the government.
Who claimed responsibility for Pahalgam terror attack?
The Resistance Front (TRF), which is linked to the banned Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has said that it was them who carried out the attack on tourists in Pahalgam, The Indian Express reported. In January 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs had declared TRF as a terrorist group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
This was because of its involvement in spreading terrorist propaganda, recruiting fighters, helping terrorists cross into India, and smuggling weapons and drugs from Pakistan into Kashmir. TRF first appeared online after Article 370 was removed and Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was taken away in August 2019.