‘We are not afraid’: Pakistanis at India-Pakistan border ceremony amid Kashmir tensions

Bela Noor Shah, Azad Kashmir: Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday led local and foreign journalist to various sites in Azad Kashmir, where India alleges Pakistan has established militant training camps, describing the allegations as a “desperate attempt” by New Delhi to divert attention from its “internal failure” in an attack in Pahalgam.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have surged to alarming levels over the attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam town that killed 26 tourists on Apr. 22. New Delhi has accused Islamabad of backing the perpetrators, an allegation Pakistan has vehemently denied and called for a credible, international probe to ascertain facts about the assault.
Subsequent Indian media reports alleged the presence of militant training camps in Azad Jammu and said India intended to target them in response to the Pahalgam attack. Tarar attempted to dismiss the Indian claims by taking a delegation of journalists to de facto border dividing the disputed Himalayan region to witness on-ground realities for themselves.
“There were numerous contradictions and inconsistencies in their [Indian] claims and they failed to substantiate them and we are proactively present at one of the locations India has alleged to be a terrorist camp,” Tarar told journalists at Bela Noor Shah, some 26 kilometers from Azad Kashmir’s capital of Muzaffarabad.
“The Indian allegations regarding the areas of Bela Noor Shah and Pir Chinasi in Azad Kashmir are fabricated and baseless as not only is the local population living a normal life [here], but educational institutions are [also] functioning and tourism is continuing as usual.”
Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947. The region is divided between the two countries, though both claim it in full and have fought two of their three wars over the disputed territory.
Since 1989, several Kashmiri groups have carried out attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan. India accuses Pakistan of supporting these groups, a charge Islamabad denies, insisting it offers only diplomatic and political support to Kashmiris.
Following the April 22 attack, public anger has swelled India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “full operational freedom” to respond to the assault. There have been fears that India may conduct limited strikes close to its border with Pakistan.
Denying Pakistan’s involvement in the attack, Tarar criticized India for not providing any evidence to back up its claims and reiterated that India’s possible strikes against Pakistan will have a “forceful response.”
“Our desire for peace should not be mistaken for weakness as any Indian aggression will be met with a strong and forceful response — one they will remember for ages,” he said.
India has consistently attempted to defame Pakistan through “false propaganda” but all such efforts have failed to yield results, according to the Pakistani information minister.
It was evident from the visit of the media delegation, which was flown to Muzaffarabad from Islamabad and was later taken to the scenic town of Bela Noor Shah via jeeps.
Arab News team observed lush, serene hills of Azad Kashmir and business going on as usual in the town.
“This is a tourist spot and very peaceful area where people from all over Kashmir and Pakistan come for recreation,” Muzaffarabad Commissioner Ghuftar Hussain told Arab News at Bela Noor Shah.
Ameer Ali, a 23-year-old resident of the nearby Sawan Pani village who had come for recreation at the top of the hill, said he had never seen any militant camp in the area during his lifetime.
“I am a university student in Muzaffarabad and have frequently visited various places in the area with friends, but I have never seen any camps anywhere in these regions,” he told Arab News, adding that Kashmiris want peace, but they would fight alongside Pakistan Army if they were attacked by India.
“If India attacks us, Kashmiris will stand shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan Army and firmly resist any Indian aggression.”
Shafaat Qadri, a 45-year-old madressah teacher, said Bela Noor Shah had been nothing but a peaceful tourist spot.
“Today, I brought a visiting friend to this picnic spot who is here from Rawalakot University,” he said. “Visiting this place has been part of our routine, and if there were any suspicious activities here, they could not go unnoticed by the locals.”
Kashmiris have grown accustomed to such Indian allegations and they no longer “take them seriously,” Qadri added.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan continues to engage foreign capitals and friendly nations as tensions simmer with India over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22, with the two nuclear-armed neighbors taking a raft of punitive measures against each other.

India has blamed Pakistan for the attack in Pahalgam resort town. Islamabad has denied involvement and asked for evidence which New Delhi has so far not publicly shared.  Both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, taken diplomatic measures against each other, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.

Amid soaring tensions, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi arrived in Pakistan on Monday for discussions on bilateral ties and regional developments, days after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif postponed his scheduled visit to Malaysia.

Separately, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott met Sharif at his office, where the prime minister shared Pakistan’s perspective on the prevailing situation in South Asia. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is also on a visit to Gulf countries, including Oman and Qatar, where he is expected to brief the Gulf leaders on Pakistan's stance.

"We will demonstrate patience, we will exercise full restraint and we will not be the first one to take any escalatory move," Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar told reporters in Islamabad, following his meeting with the Iranian FM Araghchi.

"However, if India takes any adventure, any escalatory move, then we will give a befitting reply. So, that's where we stand."

Dar said Pakistan had nothing to do with the Pahalgam incident, reiterating PM Shehbaz Sharif's offer for a credible international probe into the April 22 attack.

"Our offer is very much there," he added.

In his meeting with FM Araghchi, PM Sharif shared Pakistan’s concerns over the prevailing tensions in South Asia as a result of India’s "provocative behavior" since the Pahalgam attack, according to Sharif's office.

"He categorically rejected any attempts to link Pakistan to the incident, without sharing any evidence," Sharif's office said. "He also stressed that India’s weaponization of the Indus Waters Treaty was unacceptable and a redline for the people of Pakistan."

India suspended the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty a day after the Pahalgam attack, saying the suspension would last until "Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism." Pakistan has described the suspension of treat as an "act of war."

The flare-up and exchanges of small arms fire between India and Pakistan across their de facto border in Kashmir has alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint and urged the two neighbors to resolve the crisis through dialogue. Pakistan has assured foreign capitals and friendly nations that it would not be the first one to strike, according to officials.

In his meeting with British High Commissioner Marriott, Sharif urged the United Kingdom, which enjoys good relations with both Pakistan and India, to play its part in de-escalating the situation.

"The British high commissioner thanked the prime minister for sharing Pakistan’s position and said that the UK would work closely with Pakistan and India for maintaining regional peace and security," Sharif's office said.

Also on Monday, Interior Minister Naqvi met his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and briefed him on the prevailing regional situation.

"Pakistan has always rejected the policy of aggression. India has been offered an independent and impartial investigation into the Pahalgam incident, the truth about the incident should come before the world as to who is really responsible for it," Naqvi was quoted as saying by his ministry.

"Making baseless and illogical accusations against Pakistan is tantamount to ignoring our great sacrifices in the war against terrorism."

Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.