Pakistan rejects former PM’s Mumbai attacks statement

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

The top forum of country’s civil and military leadership on Monday rejected former premier Nawaz Sharif’s statement that appeared in local media regarding the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The meeting of National Security Committee (NSC) was held at Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad on suggestion of Pakistan army.

"The meeting reviewed the recent statement in the context of Mumbai attacks, as it appeared in the local daily and unanimously termed this statement as incorrect and misleading," according to a statement issued by PM House following the meeting.

The controversy was set off by Sharif’s interview in local English daily, telling the paper: “Militant organizations are active [in Pakistan]. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial?”

He was referring to a trial pending for the last several years, with Pakistan accusing India of not sharing evidence that could help end the trial. New Delhi, for its part, accuses Islamabad of failing to pursue the trial properly.

“The participants observed that it was very unfortunate that the opinion arising out of either misconceptions or grievances was being presented in disregard of concrete facts and realities,” the statement by the PM House said.

The top civil and military leadership also rejected the former premier observations regarding delaying tactics to finalize the case hearing and said Pakistan is not responsible but India has delayed the finalization of the case.

“Besides many other refusals during the investigation, the denial of access to the principal accused, Ajmal Qasab, and his extraordinarily hurried execution became the core impediment in the finalisation of the trial. At the same time Pakistan continues to wait for cooperation from India on the infamous Kulbhushan Jadhav and Samjhota Express episodes, the statement added.

The country’s two main opposition parties -- the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf of former cricket hero Imran Khan -- have both criticized Sharif for his remarks, and questioned his own performance in tackling the issue during his time in office.

After the NSC meeting, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Sharif's statement was “misreported” by the local English daily.

"Pakistan will never allow its territory to use against any other country," Abbasi said in a news conference.

He said there is no tension between the civil and military leaderships and “all misunderstandings have been cleared” in the meeting, Geo News, a local broadcaster, quoted the prime minister as saying.

'Misinterpretation'

Pakistani and Indian media, especially TV channels, are playing up Sharif’s interview as a “breach of national interest” or alternately a tacit admission of Pakistan’s involvement in the Mumbai carnage.

Attempting damage control, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N, Nawaz’s group) on Sunday heaped blame on the media for “misinterpreting” the interview.

“The statement of Nawaz Sharif has been grossly misinterpreted by the Indian media," a statement from an unnamed PML-N spokesperson said on Sunday.

"Unfortunately, a section of Pakistani electronic and social media has intentionally or unintentionally not only validated but has lent credence to the malicious propaganda of Indian media without going through the full facts of the statement," it added.

Sharif, who was ousted last July by the country’s top court for hiding a foreign work visa, last year also irked the army over suggesting the military’s weakness in the face of militant groups.

The story containing Sharif's suggestion was published by the same newspaper and penned by the same reporter who interviewed him on Saturday.

The issue, however, had settled down after Pervaiz Rasheed, then-information minister and Sharif’s close aide, and some other officials were sacked in May 2017.

Along with his daughter and other family members, Sharif, whose party came to power through a landslide victory in 2013, is already facing three corruption allegations, which, he claims, are “cooked up” and aimed at ousting him and his party from politics.

In November 2008, in 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai lasting for four days, members of Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba killed 164 people and injured over 300.