Under immense international pressure over the Pahalgam terror attack in India's Jammu and Kashmir in which 27 tourists were killed, Pakistan has again denied its role in the attack and said an international investigation is needed into the terror incident.

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Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, while speaking to the New York Times on Friday (April 25) said, Islamabad was “ready to cooperate” with any probe conducted by “international inspectors”.

India says three of the gunmen involved in the attack are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation, and issued a bounty for their arrest. However, Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack.

India takes steps to punish Pakistan

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In retaliation India announced a slew of punitive measures against Pakistan, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.

All Pakistanis, who have entered India via the Attari land border have also been asked by the Centre to leave by May 1.

Asif's Defense

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The Pakistan defence minister claimed that India used the terror attack as a pretext to suspend the Indus Water Treaty and announce other punitive measures. He accused New Delhi of taking steps to punish Pakistan “without any proof and investigation”.

"We do not want this war to flare up, because flaring up of this war can cause disaster for this region,” Asif was quoted as saying by Asif.

He also claimed that LeT was “defunct” and had “no ability to plan or conduct” attacks from Pakistan-controlled territory.

Emergence of proxy terrorist organisations

The responsibility for the attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF).

The organisation is not an isolated entity but a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. In January 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had declared the TRF a “terrorist organisation” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) after the organisation issued threats to journalists in Kashmir.

In recent years, newer outfits such as TRF, PAFF (People's Anti-Fascist Front), and United Liberation Front (ULF) have emerged shedding their Islamist labels of LeT or Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).