India strongly criticised Pakistan over its continued support for cross-border terrorism, asserting that Islamabad has no locus standi to comment on matters that are purely internal to India. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also said the investigation into the deadly Pahalgam terror attack remains underway.
Addressing the bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pakistan has, for decades, backed terrorism and used it as an instrument of state policy.
“The Pahalgam terror attack took several innocent lives. You all saw its barbarity. Our authorities have begun investigations into the matter, and they continue. As far as cross-border terrorism is concerned, you are well aware of Pakistan’s decades-long sponsorship and support for it as well as its continued use as an instrument of state policy,” Jaiswal said.
The April 22, 2025, terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam claimed the lives of 26 people, including 25 tourists and a local pony ride operator who was killed while trying to protect the visitors. The Pakistan-backed attackers allegedly identified victims by asking about their religion and forcing them to recite the Islamic *Kalma* to distinguish non-Muslims. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jaiswal also dismissed remarks made by Pakistani leaders after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed chargesheets against several Hurriyat leaders in a long-pending militancy-related case.
“Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on matters which are internal to India,” he said in response to a question on Islamabad’s statements backing the separatist leaders.
On July 10, the NIA announced that it had filed a chargesheet against Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah and five other senior Hurriyat leaders in connection with a 1996 case involving mob violence and indiscriminate firing on police personnel in Srinagar.
The chargesheet, submitted before the NIA Special Court in Jammu, names Shabir Ahmad Shah, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Ganie Lone, Mohd. Yaqoob Wakeel alias Mohd. Yaqoob Vakil, Javid Ahmad Mir and Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi.
They have been charged under relevant provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code, 1989, for criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder, rioting and assault on public servants, along with Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Proceedings against Geelani, Lone, and Wakeel have been abated following their deaths. However, the NIA said the chargesheet documents their alleged roles in the conspiracy and unlawful assembly, supported by evidence collected during the investigation.
According to the agency, the accused led an unlawful procession during the funeral of slain terrorist Hilal Ahmad Beigh at Naaz Crossing in Srinagar on July 17, 1996, where armed terrorists allegedly mixed with the crowd and opened indiscriminate fire on police personnel. Several police officers were injured, while government vehicles were extensively damaged by stone pelting.
The NIA further alleged that the Hurriyat leaders incited the violence by raising anti-India, pro-Pakistan and secessionist slogans, and delivered inflammatory speeches advocating armed struggle.
(With IANS inputs)
