Pakistan says it is ‘vindicated’ by damning Modi claims from former Kashmir official

Pakistan on Monday said it was “vindicated” in the deadliest terrorist attack on the Indian armed forces after a former governor of Jammu and Kashmir blamed the bomb blast on government and intelligence failure.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad issued a statement following a bombshell interview by Satya Pal Malik, who was the governor in Jammu and Kashmir from 2018-2019. Mr Malik levelled serious allegations against prime minister Narendra Modi and his administration in an interview to The Wire.

On 14 February 2019, 40 Indian army soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing attack after a car loaded with explosives rammed into a convoy of 78 buses carrying Indian paramilitary police in Pulwama, India.

The attack brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war after Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for it and Delhi launched an air raid, known as Balakot airstrike on 26 February 2019, to bomb training camps of terrorist groups in Pakistan.

In an interview on Friday, Mr Malik said he had called prime minister Modi after the attack when he was in shooting for Man vs Wild in Jim Corbett national park, telling him that it “happened due to our fault”.

He said the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has asked for aircraft to carry their convoy “because such a big convoy never goes by road” but they were refused permission by the Home Ministry.

He alleged that he was asked by Mr Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to hush up the matter so that the government can blame Pakistan for political gains.

“I distinctly remember. He was in Corbett National Park, getting his shooting done. There isn’t a phone there, so after getting out of there, he called me from a dhaba (eatery), Satyapal, what happened? I told him sir I am very unhappy that this happened solely due to our fault if we had given them an aircraft it wouldn’t have happened. He told me to keep quiet about it then,” he said.

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When asked about the involvement of Pakistan in the attack, Mr Malik maintained the Indian government’s stance and said the amount of explosives that were used could only be arranged by “anti-India people in Pakistan”.

Taking note of his comments, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Delhi used “lies and deceit” for its propaganda against Islamabad but did not respond to his comments that RDX explosives were sourced from Pakistan.

“His [Malik] disclosures demonstrate how the Indian leadership has habitually used the bogey of terrorism from Pakistan to advance its sham victimhood narrative and the Hindutva agenda, clearly for domestic political gains,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said.

“India must answer the questions raised in the latest revelations. It is time India be held accountable for the actions that imperiled regional peace in the aftermath of Pulwama attack,” it added.

In other damning remarks in the interview, Mr Malik alleged that Mr Modi had no issues with corruption and that he is “ill-informed” and “ignorant” about the Kashmir issue.

The former governor of Jammu and Kashmir served when the Bharatiya Janata Party-led federal government abrogated the semi-autonomous status of the region granted under article 370 and demoted it to a union territory from a state. Mr Malik said the Modi government should restore Kashmir’s statehood immediately as this is what has hurt the people there the most.

He said the decision to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was never discussed with him, saying “Delhi takes the entire system for granted”.

Mr Malik has a reputation as an outspoken politician who has left the members of the estranged BJP red-faced in the past as well.

Throughout his career, Mr Malik has served as the governor of four states – Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, and Meghalaya.

In response to Mr Malik’s comments, BJP’s information technology head Amit Malviya tweeted an old remark of Mr Malik, praising Mr Modi as the “best PM” for Jammu and Kashmir.