After India decries over Pulwama attack on Indian military on 14th February 2019, it has said it will now ensure the “complete isolation” of Pakistan as the suicide bomb attack killed 46 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir.
According to BBC news reports, India claims to have several “incontrovertible evidence” of Pakistan’s involvement into the attack but has refused to provide any information over that.
However, Pakistan denied holding any role in the attack by the militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammad, who resides in India’s neighbour.
Thursday’s bombing of the military vehicles was the deadliest attack on the Indian forces for decades in the region.
Federal minister Arun Jaitley said New Delhi would step up to take “all possible diplomatic steps” in order to cut Islamabad off from the International community. But however, a Pakistani minister asked India to reveal or disclose all their evidence against Pakistan, and also offered to support them investigating the attack.
Since the late 1980s, there has been rebellion in Indian-administered Kashmir region but violence has increased in some recent years.
In the wake of the suicidal bomber attack, authorities have imposed curfew in some parts of Jammu city – Hindu-Muslim city. Both Pakistan and India had claimed all Muslim-majority Kashmir but also control parts of its region.
How India is preparing to ‘punish’ Pakistan?
India has said Pakistan has long-given safe asylum to Jaish-e-Mohammad militant groups and accused the group of having a “direct hand” in the attack. India has also called for global sanctions against the militant group and its head Masood Azhar, and also to be listed as a terror group by the UN security council. India has many times tried to do so in the past but was always blocked by Pakistan closet ally China.
Jaitley set out India’s determination to hold Pakistan accountable while speaking to reporters after attending the security meeting on Friday. He further confirmed India would revoke Most Favoured Nation status from Pakistan, a special trading privilege granted in 1996.
Pakistan expressed its grave concern by the attack but also rejected all allegations levelled against the country. Pakistan’s information minister Fawad Chaudry has asked India to reveal its evidence and also offered to help in an investigation the attack.
Chaudry told broadcaster CNN-News 18: “This needs evidence. This needs an investigation.”
In a speech, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said those behind the bomber attack would need to pay a “heavy price”, further leading several analysts to expect more actions from New Delhi.
What is Jaish-e-Mohammad?
The group has been blamed for several attacks on the soil on India in the past, including the one in 2001, where it has attacked the parliament in New Delhi which took Pakistan and India to a brink of war.
Most recently, the Jaish-e-Mohammad group was blamed for attacking the Indian air force base in 2016, resides next to the border in Punjab state, where about six militants and seven Indian security personnel were killed.
The United Nations, United States and the United Kingdom along with India have all designated the group as a “terrorist” organization and has been banned since 2002 in Pakistan.
But the group’s head Masood Azhar remains large and is reportedly based in Pakistan’s Punjab Province of Bahawalpur. India has also demanded his extradition but Pakistan has refused to do so citing a lack of evidence.
Azhar was arrested in 1999 in Srinagar but India released him as a part of a hostage exchange after an airliner was hijacked.