‘Tactical brilliance’: Pakistan air force official admits role in 2019 Pulwama terror attack
The footage of his remarks is being widely circulated on social media and has raised eyebrows, as despite being linked to it, Pak has consistently denied involvement in it
Amid recent India-Pakistan tension following the Pahalgam terror attack and Delhi’s subsequent response with Operation Sindoor, Islamabad’s top military brass has virtually admitted to its role in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack.
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As many as 40 Indian paramilitary personnel were killed in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack when Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) suicide bomber targeted a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy. India had responded with the Balakot airstrike, targeting the JeM training camp located in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Video footage viral
Pakistan’s admission came in a press conference in which its Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed referred to the Pulwama attack as “tactical brilliance”. The footage of his remarks is being widely circulated on social media and has raised eyebrows, as despite being linked to it, Pakistan has consistently denied involvement in the Pulwama terror attack.
“If Pakistan's land, skies, or waters are threatened, there will be no compromise...We tried to convey this with our tactical brilliance in Pulwama, and now we've shown our strategic skills too,” said Ahmed, who is Director General Public Relations for the Pakistan Air Force, during a recent press conference that included foreign reporters.
Not the first time
Interestingly, though the admission may be rare, it certainly isn’t the first. In October 2020, Pakistan’s then Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry, openly admitted that Pakistan was responsible for the Pulwama terrorist attack, a provocation that brought it to the brink of war with India.
“Humne Hindustan ko ghus ke maara (We hit India in their home). Our success in Pulwama is a success for this nation under the leadership of Imran Khan. You and us are all part of that success,” Chaudhry was quoted as saying in the National Assembly by news agency PTI.
In denial mode
Pakistan has repeatedly denied its role in the 2019 Pulwama attack. The then prime minister Imran Khan had claimed that India does not have any evidence to prove Islamabad's role in the terror attacks in Kashmir.
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“You (India) have blamed the Pakistan government without any evidence...If you have any evidence, we will act,” he had said. Khan had said that it was in Pakistan's interest that “nobody from our soil spreads violence. I want to tell the Indian government that we will take action if evidence is found against anyone from Pakistan”.
Hub of terrorists
A few days back, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also confirmed long-standing accusations that Pakistan has harboured terrorists.
In an April interview with Sky News, the Pakistani minister admitted that Islamabad had backed terror groups in the past. “We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about 3 decades... That was a mistake, and we suffered for that,” he said.