After Imran’s reprisal threat, India says Pakistan nerve centre of terror

As Pakistani PM Imran Khan threatened to retaliate in case India were to respond militarily following the Pulwama terror attack, India chose to remain silent on its military options but made it clear that Pakistan was the “nerve centre of terrorism.”

Khan, in a video message on Tuesday, said Islamabad will take action if New Delhi shares any actionable evidence concerning the attack. This was the first time that Khan spoke on the terror strike, in which he sought to make links with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

“First of all, you accused Pakistan. There was no evidence,” Khan said. “Would even a fool do such a thing to sabotage his own conference? And even if he (the crown prince) had not been visiting, what benefit would Pakistan get from it (the Pulwama attack),” he asked.


The Cabinet Committed on Security met later in the day to take stock of the situation, including Khan’s statement. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also came out with a rebuttal to Khan’s comments.

“We are not surprised that the prime minister of Pakistan refuses to acknowledge the attack on our security forces as an act of terrorism. Prime Minister of Pakistan has neither chosen to condemn this heinous act nor condoled with the bereaved families,” the MEA said in a statement.

“Pakistan is the nerve centre of terrorism. The Pakistani PM has ignored claims made by the Jaishe-Mohammad, as well as by the terrorist who perpetrated this heinous crime. It is a well-known fact that Jaish-e-Mohammad and its leader Masood Azhar are based in Pakistan. These should be sufficient proof for Pakistan to take action,” the MEA said.

Khan has offered to investigate if India provides proof. “This is a lame excuse,” the MEA said.