ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/ KARACHI: Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Sunday blamed India for hushing up the Mumbai attacks case and hanging principal accused Ajmal Kasab in haste to hide facts.

His comments came in the wake of a statement by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif that has been spun by the Indian media as a tacit admission of Pakistan’s involvement in the 2008 attacks that left over 150 people dead.

Chaudhry Nisar said that due to non-cooperation and stubbornness of New Delhi, investigation into the attacks which was being carried out simultaneously in India and Pakistan could not reach its logical conclusion.

Chaudhry Nisar in his statement said: “In a country where cases concerning capital punishment face years of delays, the only proof in a very important case was sent to the gallows in extreme haste to take him away from the public eye and close the door before facts became public.”

Opposition parties condemn Nawaz Sharif’s statement and demand his trial under treason charges

He said Kasab was hanged in haste so that the Mumbai attacks could be used as a tool for “Pakistan bashing” across the world.

“I say with full responsibility that the delay and slow pace of the Mumbai attacks-related case in Pakistan was not Pakistan’s doing but was a result of non-cooperation and stubbornness by India,” he added.

The former interior minister said: “Despite repeated efforts, India refused to share those facts and evidence with the FIA and the investigative committee formed by Pakistani courts,” he added.

Treason trial

Meanwhile, main opposition parties condemned Sharif’s statement about the Mumbai attacks and sought his trial under treason charges.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Sherry Rehman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) termed Mr Sharif’s statement “irresponsible, self-serving and damaging” and asked him explain his position.

“He cannot make such an irresponsible statement inimical to the national security of Pakistan and to its stated foreign policy, even during his own time,” she said at a press conference in Karachi.

Ms Rehman said no democratic state would ever allow non-state actors to go maim, plunder and loot across its border. “What is Nawaz Sharif trying to do apart from serving his own interest?”

She said Pakistan was fighting a huge war “against terrorism against all odds alone and constantly under international criticism and he [Mr Sharif] is adding fuel to that highly critical narrative”.

“There is no concrete evidence linking Pakistan to the Mumbai attacks or for Mumbai to proceed with a trial. Pakistan, too, wants a judicious resolution of the Mumbai case and we are still waiting for the requisite evidence from India,” the PPP senator said.

In a press statement issued in Islamabad, former interior minister and PPP Senator Rehman Malik held India responsible for the Mumbai attacks and said the incident had been engineered to divert world’s attention from human rights violations in India-held Kashmir. He said the state of Pakistan had no role in the attacks.

“Such a statement [by Mr Sharif] implicating Pakistan amounts to backing the UN resolution against Hafiz Saeed who was found ‘not’ involved in the attack,” he added.

Mr Malik asked the PML-N supreme leader to withdraw his statement that created a false impression about Pakistan’s role in the Mumbai attacks.

“It was RAW [Indian intelligence agency] which facilitated the non-state actors some (of which) were recruited from Pakistan. That is why India did not give access to Pakistani investigators despite numerous requests,” he added.

The former minister said it was a RAW operation supported by some western countries to frame Pakistan.

PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said Mr Sharif’s ‘anti-Pakistan statement’ was a “well thought-out conspiracy” against the country’s security agencies.

He said the former premier had stooped to such a low to commit treason. “In order to hide his corruption, Nawaz Sharif has gone to the extent to target Pakistan’s security agencies and armed forces. The Sharifs are hatching conspiracies against the army and judiciary with the help of their foreign patrons. The patriotic people of Pakistan will foil their evil designs,” he added.

Awami Muslim League leader Shaikh Rashid said Mr Sharif’s statement was against the country’s security and could lead to economic sanctions. “Defaming the judiciary and army was part of an international agenda and an attempt to create obstacles in the way of accountability,” he told the media in Multan.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Punjab president Abdul Aleem Khan said Mr Sharif had once again proved that he was more interested in having friendship with Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi than protecting the interest of Pakistan.

PTI leader Ejaz Chaudhry de­­manded institution of a treason case against the former prime minister.

Former foreign minister and PTI leader Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali said the authorities concerned should

proceed against the PML-N supreme leader under Articles 5 and 6 of the Constitution for his statement that shocked the nation and pleased the enemies of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2018