Pakistan’s Offer for Pahalgam Terror Investigation: Trust Issues Remain

On Sunday, Pakistan said it wants to join a fair and honest investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made this statement during a speech at a military event in Kakul, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He urged an end to the ongoing blame game between the two countries, emphasizing that Pakistan is ready to cooperate in a serious investigation.

Sharif’s offer came after India announced strict actions against Pakistan, like stopping the Indus Waters Treaty, closing the Attari border crossing, and lowering diplomatic relations. Following his offer, Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, questioned Pakistan’s credibility. He pointed out that Pakistan first denied any wrongdoing and accused India of being involved.

This isn’t the first time Pakistan has tried to help with investigations of terror attacks linked to them. After a 2016 attack on India’s Pathankot air base, where eight people died, Pakistan sent a special team to collect evidence in India, but they didn’t find anything useful.

Pakistan has a history of not taking real action on terror investigations. For example:

– Mumbai Attack (November 2008): India gave evidence to Pakistan about Hafiz Saeed, a leader of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Although a panel visited India, no serious action was taken against him.
– Pathankot Attack (January 2016): Pakistan’s investigation team visited the airbase, but failed to share any important evidence with India afterward.
– Uri Attack (September 2016): India sent a formal request to Pakistan with evidence, but they didn’t respond.
– Pulwama Attack (February 2019): India asked Pakistan for information about several attackers, but Pakistan ignored the request and claimed they were also victims of terrorism.