MUZAFFARABAD, Jan 16: The Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, while condemning the grenade attack near the residence of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, has exhorted the people to stop “bashing” India for every nasty thing that happens in and around the Himalayan region.

“Though I strongly denounce this attack, but the attitude of unnecessarily linking whatever bad happens to India has to be given up,” he said in a statement.

The attack seems to be the work of the forces opposed to the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan. The cowardly and ghastly act, he said, was just an attempt to derail the whole process.

The statement of the AJ&K prime minister was in sharp contrast to those of the militant groups who put the blame squarely on Indian shoulders. “Why have the opponents forgotten that there was a time when the family and house of Mirwaiz were the only ones in the held territory which provided pro-Pakistan voices,” said the prime minister. “This remains the case even today.”

He said: “Mirwaiz (Umer Farooq) is an icon of frontline Kashmiri leadership and an attack at his residence should be condemned by the whole nation.” Sounding optimistic, Sardar Attique added: “The enemies of the peace process would not be allowed to succeed in their designs and no attempt can cow down the determined leadership.”