Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail MahmoodDays after the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood over the Pulwama terror attack, Pakistan Monday called its envoy to Islamabad for consultations. After the attack, India’s High Commissioner in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria was also called to Delhi for consultations.
Issuing a strong demarche to Pakistan envoy, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had told Mahmood that Pakistan must take “immediate and verifiable action” against the Jaish-e-Mohammad and that it must immediately stop any groups or individuals associated with terrorism operating from its territories. JeM has claimed responsibility for the terror attack.
Last week, India also held talks with representatives of 25 countries, including from P5 nations–US, China, Russia, the UK and France –to brief them about the attack and apprise them of Pakistan’s role in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
Watch: What is JeM, the terror group behind the attack on CRPF
Read | Pulwama terror attack: Punishing Pakistan — the options India has
Gokhale also met 25 Heads of Mission based in New Delhi from all P-5 countries, South Asian countries and other important partners like Japan, Germany, Republic of Korea and others. “All envoys were left in no doubt about the role played by Pakistan based and supported Jaish-e-Mohammad in the terrorist attack and our demand that Pakistan ceases all support and financing to terror groups operating from areas under their control,” sources said. Gokhale, sources said, highlighted the role played by Pakistan in using terrorism as an instrument of its state policy.
We have called back our HIgh Commissioner in India for consultations.
He left New Delhi this morning .— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) February 18, 2019
In an attempt to isolate Pakistan on global platforms, India also decided to withdraw the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) accorded to the nation and hiked excise duty on imports by 200 per cent.
In the worst suicide bomb attack in Kashmir, 40 CRPF jawans were killed and several grievously after an explosive-laden car rammed into the convoy in Pulwama on Thursday.
