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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday rejected a renewed Indian propaganda campaign linking it to the 2025 Pahalgam attack, deploring that the neighbouring country was focusing on “weaponising its false narrative” in the midst of an ongoing regional crisis.
The Foreign Office issued a strong condemnation after Indian officials and military figures marked the first anniversary of the attack with what it described as more baseless allegations against Islamabad.
The April 22, 2025, attack in Pahalgam saw 26 people, mostly tourists, killed. New Delhi immediately blamed the attack on Pakistan without providing any evidence. For its part, Pakistan strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral investigation.
On the attack’s anniversary, some in India appeared to link Pakistan again with terrorism. The Indian army also issued a threatening statement, saying that a “response is assured” against acts of terrorism.
This followed a recent warning from Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who cryptically threatened Pakistan by saying “Dot, dot, dot”.
In a formal statement, the FO addressed the mounting rhetoric from New Delhi. “At a time when Pakistan, along with its international partners, is undertaking concerted diplomatic efforts for regional and international peace and security, it is deplorable that India has once again resorted to a campaign of baseless allegations and propaganda to link Pakistan with the Pahalgam incident,” the FO said.
“It is unfortunate that, in the midst of an ongoing regional crisis, India remains focused on weaponising its false narrative against Pakistan for narrow domestic political gains.”
The FO recalled the military conflict in May 2025 that followed the Pahalgam attack, highlighting Pakistan’s successful defensive actions against Indian aggression.
“After receiving a befitting reply to its misplaced adventurism in the form of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos last year, such allegations constitute yet another chapter from India’s playbook of creating a smokescreen for its continued sponsorship of terrorism across the region,” the statement continued. The FO asserted that New Delhi’s propaganda could not distract the international community from the core issues plaguing the region, including India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir.
Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2026
