‘Our hands are clean,' Pakistan briefs UNCA about conflict with India over Kashmir attack

Arab News

2 days ago

ISLAMABAD: A top Pakistani representative on Tuesday told journalists at the United Nations (UN) that Pakistan had nothing to do with an April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that sparked a four-day military conflict between the neighbors, reiterating Islamabad's offer to cooperate with New Delhi on militancy and other issues under a 'comprehensive dialogue.'
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a former Pakistani foreign minister, has been leading a nine-member parliamentary delegation, constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels to present Pakistan's stance on last month's standoff with India.
The conflict, in which the two countries traded missile, drones and artillery fire, was triggered after India accused Pakistan of supporting militants who killed over two dozen tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir's Pahalgam resort town on April 22. Islamabad denies involvement.
Speaking to United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), Bhutto-Zardari noted that immediately after the April 22 incident, Islamabad had offered its cooperation to New Delhi and the international community in investigating the assault.
'The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, offered publicly to India, the international community that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial, international investigation into this terrorist attack,' he said.
'We did so because we were confident that our hands are clean, and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. The Indian government refused Pakistan's offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes.'
He said Pakistan only ever acted in 'self-defense' after India attacked multiple Pakistani cities on May 7, but the difference between 2019 India-Pakistan cross-border airstrikes and the 2025 military standoff was that they were now in a more 'precarious position.'
'It's not a question of if, but when the next war is fought,' Bhutto-Zardari said.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. Both countries have fought three wars, including two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir which either of the two claims in its entirety, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.
The latest conflict, the worst between the neighbors in decades, killed around 70 people on both sides and came to a halt with a United States-brokered ceasefire on May 10.
'I must emphasize that the global community today is less safe, post this ceasefire, post this conflict with India, then we were before,' Bhutto-Zardari said. 'And it's simply because that threshold for full-blown military conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations has come down.'
Asking New Delhi to not use militancy as a 'political tool,' the former Pakistani foreign minister once again urged India to hold a dialogue with Pakistan to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir dispute.
'Pakistan's position today is that we would like to have a comprehensive dialogue with India,' he said. 'Pakistan would still like to cooperate with India to combat terrorism. We can't leave the fate of 1.5, 1.7 billion people in the hands of non-state actors and terrorists for them to decide at a whim that two nuclear-armed powers will go to war.'
The Bhutto-Zardari-led Pakistani delegation arrived in New York on Monday as part of Islamabad's diplomatic outreach, amid heightened tensions with India despite the ceasefire between the two countries. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to Pakistan Premier Syed Tariq Fatemi, is set to visit Moscow.
In a meeting with US Acting Permanent Representative to the UN Dorothy Shea in New York, the Pakistani delegates urged Washington to play its role in ensuring a dialogue between Pakistan and India to address all outstanding issues, Pakistani state media reported earlier on Tuesday.
Bhutto-Zardari expressed 'deep concern' over India's immediate attribution of blame to Pakistan without any 'credible investigation or verifiable evidence.'
'Such premature and baseless allegations exacerbate tensions and undermine prospects for constructive dialogue and peace,' he told the US envoy.
On Monday, the Pakistani delegates held a meeting with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) envoys at the UN, wherein they reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy, and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty by India, Pakistan's Permanent Mission to the UN said.
India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan a day after the attack at the Pahalgam resort town. The move drew a sharp response from Islamabad, which said any attempts to divert or stop the flow of its waters by India would be considered an 'act of war.'
About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million.
'Bhutto-Zardari expressed grave concern at the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a move that Pakistan considers a blatant act of weaponizing water and a violation of international and treaty obligations,' the Pakistani mission said.
The delegation also urged the UN Security Council to play a 'proactive role' in promoting de-escalation, ensuring respect for international law and treaties and facilitating peaceful resolution of disputes.