Pakistan says it found no link to Pulwama attack

Islamabad: Expressing its commitment to take forward the investigation process of Pulwama, Pakistan Foreign Office on Thursday, said that the country is willing to allow visits to suspected locations on request.

After thoroughly examining information shared by India on the Pulwama incident, Pakistan found no links to the attack and “no such camps” were found in 22 locations identified by India.

“While 54 detained individuals are being investigated, no details linking them to Pulwama have been found so far. Similarly, the 22 pin locations shared by India have been examined. No such camps exist” Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.

Pakistan has sought additional information and evidence from India to take forward the process of investigations. The Indian dossier “contains 91 pages and 6 parts, out of which only part 2 & 3 pertain to Pulwama incident. Other parts are generalised allegations. Pakistan is focusing on those parts which relate to Pulwama incident” the statement said.

During the course of investigations, Pakistan examined the “confessional” video of the suspect Adil Dar’s “claim” of responsibility for the attack, WhatsApp and Telegram numbers used to share videos and messages in support of Pulwama attack, as well as list of 90 individuals suspected of belonging to a proscribed organisation and 22 pin locations of alleged training camps.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has requested assistance from the US Government to get information on WhatsApp data as well as from mobile phone service providers linked with the incident.

Pakistan FO also briefed the diplomatic community in Islamabad on the preliminary findings of its investigations on Pulwama and informed that Pakistan thoroughly investigated all aspects of the information provided by India.

On March 27, the Government of Pakistan formally shared preliminary findings on Pulwama with Indian High Commissioner, Ajay Bisaria. “The Indian high commissioner in Islamabad was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the foreign secretary (Tehmina Janjua) and the findings on the Pulwama incident were shared with him,” the FO said.

After the Pulwama attack, Prime Minister Imran Khan offered cooperation in the investigation if credible evidence and “actionable intelligence” were provided by India. Later, on February 27, India handed over a dossier containing information in support of its allegation that the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM), a group allegedly operating from Pakistani territory, was involved in the February 14 attack.

Soon after, Pakistan constituted an investigation team, detained a number of persons for investigations and initiated work on the technical aspects. Pakistan says it “acted with a high sense of responsibility and extended full cooperation” in the interest of regional peace and security.”