Charge Sheet Filed in Pulwama Terror Attack Case
While Pakistan has categorically denied its involvement in the Pulwama attack, political leaders in India also have raised doubts over the government’s claims that Pakistan had supported the attackers.
By Rakesh Raman
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India on Tuesday (August 25) filed a charge sheet in the February 2019 Pulwama terror attack case. Pulwama is an area in Kashmir, which is a disputed territory between India and Pakistan.
The 13,500-page charge sheet filed before a special NIA court in Jammu names 19 people who it claims carried out the bombing at Pakistan’s behest.
According to a Reuters report, the NIA had claimed on Monday that four of the seven Pakistani nationals charged in the attack were at large, while the other three had been killed in separate clashes with security forces.
RMN News Service cannot independently confirm the veracity of the NIA’s claims.
According to Hindustan Times, the officials say that the charge sheet has irrefutable evidence – technical, material, and circumstantial – on Pakistan’s role in the attack. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in the Pulwama terror attack that led to a heightened tension between India and Pakistan.
While Pakistan has categorically denied its involvement in the Pulwama attack, political leaders in India also have raised doubts over the government’s claims that Pakistan had supported the attackers.
Entire Nation pays homage to martyrs of #Pulwama !
Questions remain-:
1. Why is the report of Pulwama attack not being made public?
2. Who is accountable?
3. Who brought the 350 Kgs IED?
4. Why were intelligence reports of attack ignored?
5. Did Devinder Singh have any role? pic.twitter.com/0bG0eWu0Id— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) February 14, 2020
Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raised a number of questions and asked Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s government to release the findings of the inquiry report on the Pulwama attack and the names of people in the government who have been held accountable for the security lapses that allowed the attack.
Today as we remember our 40 CRPF martyrs in the #PulwamaAttack , let us ask:
1. Who benefitted the most from the attack?
2. What is the outcome of the inquiry into the attack?
3. Who in the BJP Govt has yet been held accountable for the security lapses that allowed the attack? pic.twitter.com/KZLbdOkLK5
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 14, 2020
Although the Modi government without any evidence had blamed Pakistan for the attack, Pakistan has refuted the allegations vehemently. Pakistan Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain had termed the Indian allegation regarding Pulwama incident as totally “false and baseless.” He said Pakistan is promoting peace and tolerance in the region.
Since the Pulwama attack took place in February 2019 – just before the Lok Sabha election – it was largely believed that the Modi government had stage-managed the attack to take electoral advantage by evoking anti-Pakistan sentiment in India.
In order to entice Hindu voters, Modi’s party BJP often makes unsubstantiated claims that Pakistan – which is a Muslim country – is spreading terrorism in different parts of India. Modi’s party also creates a false impression that Hindu leader Modi can save them from Muslim terrorism sponsored by Pakistan.
This dangerous strategy has been working successfully for Modi and BJP to hoodwink the gullible voters and win elections in those areas where BJP cannot manipulate the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
While India has been blaming Pakistan for spreading terrorism in India – particularly in Kashmir – now Pakistan has turned the tables on India with the same allegation. Pakistan has said that India is the fountainhead of terrorism in the entire region and it has linkages with international terrorism and organized crime groups.
This assessment was given on August 7, 2020 by Munir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York. He added that India is posing threats to international peace and security and Pakistan will expose India at the UN Security Council (UNSC).
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
