In yet another admission of harbouring terror, Pakistan's former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that it is an open secret that Pakistan has a past as far as extremist groups are concerned. Bhutto's remark comes after Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in an interview admitted that his country has been funding and backing terror groups right from the time of the Afghan war. Pakistan also shielded The Resistance Force (TRF) - the terror group which first claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack and then retracted - at the United Nations (UN) by getting its name removed from the statement on the Pahalgam attack. 

Advertisment

In an interview with Sky News, Bhutto said, “I don’t think that it’s a secret that Pakistan has a past as far as extremist groups are concerned.”

Tensions between India and Pakistan has been rising after the Pahalgam terror attack. Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) proxy group TRF claimed responsible for the attack but later, retracted their statement after India's stern action on Pakistan. Despite Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif calling for a "neutral probe," and denying any involvement in the attack, Pakistan has been making big admission of backing terror groups. 

Advertisment

Read More | Pakistan in panic mode: PM Shehbaz Sharif meets President Zardari amid India's stern action post-Pahalgam terror attack

Pakistani defence minister's huge admission of terror

In a video clip that has now gone viral, Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif was in conversation with Sky News's Yalda Hakim, when she asks him, "But you do admit, you do admit, sir, that Pakistan has had a long history of backing and supporting and training and funding these terrorist organisations?

Advertisment

Khawaja Asif in his reply says, "We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about 3 decades... and the west, including Britain...That was a mistake, and we suffered for that, and that is why you are saying this to me. If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union and later on the war after 9/11, Pakistan's track record was unimpeachable." Dar had also said that Pakistan had an active role in supporting the Mujahideen during the first Afghan war. "Pakistan went through wave after wave of extremism… we suffered," he said.

He also claimed an “imminent Indian military incursion”, however, backtracked from his statement claiming that his remarks were "misinterpretated". Asif told the Geo News, “I think it has been misinterpreted on some other channel...They asked me what are the chances of war, so I said that the next two to three days were crucial."

Read More | 'You want to demoralise our forces?': Supreme Court rebukes petitioners seeking judicial probe into Pahalgam attack

Pakistan is in panic mode with its top leaders huddling regularly. On Thursday (May 1) Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on President Asif Ali Zardari and discussed the current security situation, and said that they are standing with their armed forces. Pakistan's Deputy PM Dar, and Minister for Law and Justice, Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, were also present during the meeting.

Read More | India mulls blocking postal services with Pakistan, its websites amid rising Indo-Pak tensions post Pahalgam attack

Pahalgam terror attack

A terror attack on April 22 in Baisaran Valley of Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam district killed 26 tourists. An offshoot of the banned Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) - The Resistance Front (TRF) - claimed responsibility for the attack. However, they retracted their statement on April 26, claiming that its social media was compromised. The Indian government launched a massive crackdown against the terrorists and released sketches of three terrorists who were responsible for the attack. As per J&K Police, two terrorists involved in the attack were Pakistani nationals and the third, was a resident of Anantnag in Kashmir. His home along with the homes of several other terrorists, have been demolished.

On the diplomatic front, the Indian government halted the Indus Waters Treaty, expelled its diplomats, called back Indian officials from Islamabad, closed the Attari border and its airspace for Pakistani flights. India is also planning to block postal services and Pakistani IP (websites). Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "I say to the whole world. India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth." 

Read More | 'Don't target Kashmiris, Muslims', appeals widow of Navy officer killed in Pahalgam terror attack