Faced with undeniable proof of origin of terrorists involved in the deadly terror attack at Uri Army camp, Pakistan was quick to deny any involvement of its state or non-state actors in the suicide strike that claimed the lives of 18 Indian soldiers.
The media in Pakistan – particularly the newspapers – echoed the country’s official (and perpetual) stand of denial. What is baffling though is that the media in Pakistan goes on to blame India for perpetrating attacks on itself. Why, did you ask?
To deflect attention from the “fast deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation” in Jammu and Kashmir since the death of Burhan Wani.
Editorials in Pakistani media appeared to blamed India for “jumping the gun” to put the blame on Islamabad and said that the timing was suspicious because it coincided with Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s address at the United Nations General Assembly where he is expected to rake up the Kashmir issue.
Here is a look at the reports in leading Pakistani newspapers today:
Dawn
The newspaper carried the report of the attack at Uri base on its front page and along with the response of Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). It also quoted Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria denying Indian allegations saying, “Pakistan is always blamed for any untoward incident in India.”
The daily touted Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s attack on Pakistan as a “vitriolic assault.”
The newspaper dedicated an editorial on the Uri attack saying that “Indian authorities’ accusations against Pakistan has plunged Pak-India relations into a dangerous and unstable new phase.”
The Express Tribune
On of the leading dailies of Pakistan, The Express Tribune claimed that Indian officials had jumped the gun in blaming Pakistan for an attack that killed 18 soldiers.
A report also included Pakistan defence minister Khawja Asif’s tweet saying, “Don’t rule out inside job to malign Azadi movement by blaming Pakistan.”
Pakistan Observer
In a report carried out on its front page, the Pakistan Observer said that “four heavily-armed suspected militants” killed 17 soldiers in an army base.
Brushing aside Indian claim as “baseless allegations”, the newspaper quoted Pakistan’s DGMO saying that “no infiltration is allowed from Pakistani soil because water-tight arrangements were on both sides of the LOC Working boundary all along.”
The report called Rajnath Singh’s statement an “anti-Pakistan rant”.
The News International
The News International reported that an Indian military camp was attacked by “militants” and also published statement by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
The newspaper quoted Pakistani security officials as saying that they were “confident” that the Uri attack was a “Pathankot-like stage drama to trumpet its terrorism mantra against Pakistan and counter Islamabad’s diplomatic moves to expose Indian atrocities in Kashmir at a time when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is all set to expose New Delhi at the UN General Assembly session”.
The article questioned the attack despite high security in the army unit.
