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Pak PM deserves second chance; Govt’s ‘war rhetoric’ aimed at Lok Sabha polls: Mehbooba sparks row

Mufti’s comment came minutes after Imran Khan denied Pakistan’s role in the Pulwama terror attack and threatened that Pakistan will retaliate if India attacks.

Pak PM deserves second chance; Govt’s ‘war rhetoric’ aimed at Lok Sabha polls: Mehbooba sparks row

Mehbooba Mufti (File Photo)

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday stoked controversy after she said that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan “deserved a second chance” and described the “war rhetoric” after the Pulwama terror attack as “more to do with the impending elections than anything else”.

Mufti’s comment came minutes after Imran Khan denied Pakistan’s role in the Pulwama terror attack and threatened that Pakistan will retaliate if India attacks.

She virtually endorsed Imran’s allegation that “this attack talk is all keeping elections in mind”.

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She tweeted: “But Pak PM deserves a chance since he’s recently taken over. Of course, the war rhetoric has more to do with the impending elections than anything else”.

However, she “disagreed” with Imran Khan on his demand of proof for the terror attack and said “Pathankot dossier was given to them but no action was taken to punish the perpetrators”.

Mehbooba Mufti has from time to time appreciated Khan’s actions. She recently praised him for deciding to name the Baloki forest reserve in Pakistan after Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. However, she hit out at the Modi government at the Centre, saying its “top priority” seemed to be building a Ram temple at Ayodhya.

“How times change. Centre’s top priority is seemingly renaming historic cities & building Ram Mandir. On the other hand, heartening to see that Pak PM has initiated steps to name Baloki forest reserve after Guru Nanak ji and create a university under his name,” she had tweeted.

Read | Amid tensions over Pulwama, Imran Khan says Pakistan will retaliate if India attacks

In his first statement issued since the 14 February Pulwama terror attack, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier on Tuesday accused India of blaming his country “without evidence” and warned of retaliation against any military action by India.

At the same time, Khan, who is known for his closeness with Pakistan’s military establishment, said that the issue between the two countries can be solved through dialogue.

“My statement is for the Indian government. You (Indian govt) have blamed the Pakistan government without any evidence,” he said in an address aired by Radio Pakistan.

“It is in our interest that nobody from our soil spreads violence. I want to tell Indian govt that we will take action if evidence is found against anyone from Pakistan,” Khan, who is the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), added.

“If you (Indian govt) think you will attack us and we will not think of retaliating, we will retaliate. We all know starting a war is in the hands of humans, where it will lead us only God knows,” he went to say.

Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, strongly reacted to Imran’s threats and tweeted; “Dear @ImranKhanPTI you have Jaish chief Masood Azhar sitting in Bahawalpur & masterminding the attacks with ISI help. Go pick him up from there. If you can’t let us know, we’ll do it for you. BTW what has been done about poofs of Mumbai’s 26/11attack. Time to walk the talk”.

The 14 February Pulwama terror attack, which killed 44 personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), was carried out by a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber. The JeM, which is based in Pakistan’s Bahawalpur, claimed responsibility soon after the attack.

India has been accusing Pakistan of shielding terror masterminds such as JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed.

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