A year on, India has failed to substantiate allegations against Pakistan over Pahalgam attack: info minister

The April 22, 2025 attack in Pahalgam saw 26 people, mostly tourists, killed in what is being described as the deadliest armed attack in the disputed Himalayan region since the year 2000. Responsibility for the attack was allegedly claimed by the hitherto unknown The Resistance Front (TRF).

“To this day, India has not presented any solid evidence or proof regarding the Pahalgam incident, nor has it offered satisfactory explanations,” Tarar said in a televised statement issued on the incident’s anniversary.

He recalled India’s refusal to accept Pakistan’s offer for a neutral and transparent investigation into the Pahalgam attack, adding that it “raises serious questions and suggests that the incident may have been a false flag operation”.

“The false flag operation in Pahalgam reflects a mindset that is hollow — driven by false pride, arrogance and greed,” he contended.

Stating that the entire matter was “handled through empty slogans and in a very crude manner”, Tarar said Pakistan had been itself a victim of terrorism and had expressed “full sympathy” with the civilians affected in the Pahalgam attack.

The minister questioned how the first information report of the case was registered within just 10 minutes of the incident and noted that think tanks had raised questions about there being “no proper security” at the site.

“India’s issue is that it presents its internal matters as external ones and its external matters as internal. A clear example of this is terrorism,” Tarar said.

He added, “Terrorism is India’s internal issue, yet it portrays it as an external problem. Similarly, the Kashmir issue is an international issue but India presents it as an internal one.”