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Updated 27 Sep, 2016 07:32pm

Two guides from Muzaffarabad facilitated Uri attackers, India tells Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday promptly rejected Indian allegations of its involvement in the Uri army base attack, soon after Indian authorities said they had shared "evidence" with Pakistan High Commissioner to New Delhi Abdul Basit.

Pakistan envoy Abdul Basit told Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar that India is trying to divert the world’s attention from atrocities being committed by Indian forces in India-held Kashmir (IHK) by blaming the Uri attack on Pakistan.

If India is sincere in carrying out an investigation of the Uri attack then it should not run away from it. India should allow independent investigators to carry out an investigation into the attack, Basit told Jaishankar.

The Indian foreign secretary summoned Basit to hand over the evidence, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Jaishankar alleged that local villagers apprehended two Muzaffarabad-based 'guides' that India claims facilitated the Uri army base attackers.

Swarup tweeted details of the guides, identifying them as Faizal Hussain Awan, 20, son of Gul Akbar and a resident of Potha Jahangir, Muzaffarabad, and Yasin Khurshid, 19, son of Muhammad Khurshid and a resident of Khiliana Kalan, Muzaffarabad.

"Preliminary interrogation reveals identity of one of the slain Uri attackers as Hafiz Ahmed, son of Feroz and a resident of Dharbang Muzaffarabad," he alleged.

"Details of the handlers were also obtained," Swarup alleged. The Indian foreign ministry spokesman identified the alleged handlers as Mohammad Kabir Awan and Basharat.

"The foreign secretary terms continuing cross-border terrorist attacks from Pakistan against India as unacceptable," Swarup said.

Earlier this month, 18 Indian soldiers were killed in an attack on the Uri army base in IHK in the run-up to Pakistan and India's showdown at the United Nations General Assembly over Kashmir.

India accused Pakistan of involvement immediately after the attack, terming it a 'terrorist state'.

Over 100 people have been killed, hundreds blinded and over a thousand injured in violent clashes with government forces despite repeated imposition of curfews in IHK since Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in July.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his address to the UNGA maintained that Pakistan wants peace with India but it is "not possible without resolving the Kashmir issue". The premier urged the UN to demilitarise Jammu and Kashmir and called for steps to implement UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir.

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj at the UNGA on Monday, in a veiled reference to Pakistan, accused it of 'nurturing, peddling and exporting terrorism'.

Swaraj slammed PM Nawaz's speech saying, "The prime minister of Pakistan used this podium to make baseless allegations about human rights violations in my country" and advised Pakistan to abandon the dream of having control of IHK.

“My firm advice to Pakistan is: abandon this dream. Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so,” Swaraj said.

FO Spokesman Nafees Zakaria, responding to Swaraj, raised the question "why is Kashmir on the agenda of the UN Security Council" if it is an integral part of India.

He added "[It is] strange that the Indian minister of external affairs is disowning UNSC resolutions, and that too at the UN."

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