India blaming Islamabad for Uri attack without any concrete evidence: Pak Interior Minister

Islamabad [Pakistan], Sept. 23 (ANI): Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday accused India of blaming Pakistan for the recent Uri attack without having any concrete evidence. Pakistan has dismissed Indian allegations of involvement in the Uri attack that claimed lives of 18 soldiers, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government had apportioned blame even before the investigation was completed. Accusing India of trying to defame Pakistan without any verification, Khan said Pakistan cannot initiate any investigation of the Uri attack because India itself does not have any evidence for it. "The Indians themselves don't have any evidence, so what sort of investigation can Pakistan carry out? They have blamed us just to defame Pakistan," Khan told a news conference here. Referring to purported reports that the Indian Defence Ministry's ordering media to "pre-verify" news related to the Indian army, Khan said they did that because their "false propaganda" was being exposed by their own news channels. "We have not imposed any censorship on the media here; it is India that has imposed censorship on its media. And why are they doing that? Because their lies have become so exposed that they had to resort to censorship. Whichever person stood up to speak, he lied. Even their DGMO rejected the statement attributed to him regarding evidence against Pakistan. Many other statements that were being blatantly flaunted by their media, have all be contradicted. So, Pakistan has nothing to answer. Whatever clarifications are required, have to be given by India," Khan said. On Wednesday, Pakistan's High Commissioner to New Delhi Abdul Basit was summoned by India's Foreign Secretary and told that it was ready to provide details including fingerprints and DNA samples of militants killed in the Uri attack to Islamabad. However, Khan said the offer could only be accepted after India clarified its position about the knee-jerk reaction to the attack from India's civil and military leaders, who prematurely started blaming Pakistan, with media commentators calling for a military response. "The first thing that needs to be clarified is that the attack was still going on, investigations had not even started, and they started blaming us. So, if anybody has to answer anybody, it's India," he said. Replying to a query about Baloch nationalist Brahamdagh Bugti seeking Indian nationality, Khan said the government has decided to write to Interpol for taking up the case of Bugti, who is involved in terror activities in Pakistan. He said Indian intentions about terrorism in Balochistan had become manifest after offering nationality to a person who was wanted in Pakistan in terror related cases. "Their (Indian) feelings about Brahmadagh Bugti, and their invitation to him unmistakably establishes who is behind the terrorism (in Balochistan). You all know about my opinion. But now the government is also doing its homework. In the next a few days, we will be writing to Interpol about this person through FIA (Federal Investigation Agency). We will be sending a formal reference, asking for arrangements to be made to bring him to Pakistan," Khan said. Bugti, the grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a Baloch nationalist leader killed by the Pakistani army in 2006, has been living in exile in Switzerland. Islamabad has always blamed India for helping Bugti flee to Geneva in 2010 via Afghanistan. Bugti's application seeking political asylum in India has been received by the Indian Home Ministry which is examining it. Earlier on Friday, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned India in a tweet that by granting asylum to Bugti, it (India) will become an "official sponsor of terrorism". (ANI)