- Reiterates to maintain minimum deterrence capability
ISLAMABAD, March 9: Pakistan on Thursday said the acquittal of a Hindu radical – accused of masterminding the deadly 2007 Samjhota Express bombing – in a separate case is “regrettable”.
An Indian court on Wednesday handed down a rare ‘guilty’ verdict to three Hindu extremists over the 2007 bombing of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, but cleared Swami Aseemanand, the alleged mastermind of the attack initially blamed on Islamist groups.
Naba Kumar Sarkar, better known by his nickname Swami Aseemanand, the alleged ringleader behind the religiously motivated attack, was among seven Hindu extremists acquitted after prosecutors failed to prove their guilt.
Aseemanand remains in prison pending trial over his role in two separate bomb attacks – one on a mosque and another on the Samjhota Express – that together killed nearly 75 people.
“Aseemanand and Col Rohit were involved in the Samjhota Express tragedy … Aseemanand himself confessed to the crime,” FO spokesman Nafees Zakaria recalled at his weekly briefing on Thursday.
He also said Pakistan had provided complete information regarding the arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to Indian authorities, but despite that,India has so far not issued a response on the matter.
The FO spokesperson condemned repeated instances of ‘unprovoked’ firing by Indian troops across the Line of Control (LoC) and slammed the targeting of civilian populations.
Pakistani authorities have recorded their protest by repeatedly raising the issue of ceasefire violations with Indian officials, the FO spokesman added.
“Through such steps, Indian wants to divert the world’s attention from its atrocities against [India-held] Kashmir civilians.”
India has violated the ceasefire a total of 1,400 times since 2013, Zakaria said. “India violated the ceasefire 400 times in 2016 alone,” he added.-
Pakistan reiterated it would maintain minimum deterrence capability to safeguard its national security.
This was stated by Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria at the weekly news briefing in Islamabad.-Agencies
