FO rejects 'mischievous' Indian media reports linking Pakistan to Afghanistan temple attack

Published April 7, 2020
Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui. — Photo courtesy Radio Pakistan
Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui. — Photo courtesy Radio Pakistan

Pakistan on Tuesday rejected reports circulating in the Indian media that linked Pakistan's security agencies to an attack on a gurdwara in Afghanistan last month.

At least 25 people were killed in the attack on a Sikh temple in Afghanistan’s capital on March 25 where worshippers were offering morning prayers. The attack had been claimed by the militant Islamic State (IS) group.

According to a report by Indian publication India Today, Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Saturday arrested Abdullah Orakzai alias Aslam Farooqi, the mastermind behind the attack, who they claimed had ties to Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The India Today report also added that Orakzai alias Farooqi enjoyed "close relations" to the Haqqani network and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Responding to these allegations, the Foreign Office in a statement said it rejected the "officially-inspired reports" and termed the move "mischievous and condemnable".

Terming these news reports part of a "well known smear campaign against Pakistan", the FO spokeswoman said these were "patently designed to malign Pakistan".

"Seeking to implicate Pakistan in this terrorist attack is part of the desperate attempts India is making to divert attention from its own unacceptable actions and state-terrorism in India-occupied Jammu & Kashmir."

The FO said Pakistan remained "confident that such Indian ploys will not succeed in misleading the world community".

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.