Pulwama Terror Attack: Here are all the times Pakistan denied involvement before Imran Khan's eventual admission

After maintaining a persistent denial over Islamabad's role in the ghastly Pulwama terror attack, Pakistan PM Imran Khan is a crucial admission, slipped and said that Jaish-e-Mohammed is operative in India 'as well.'

In an address to the Washington-based think-tank US Institute of Peace, despite the slipped confession, Pakistani Prime Minister, yet again, denied involvement in the terror attack that martyred 40 CRPF Jawans, calling the attack "indigenous." 

He said, "What happened in Pulwama in February last year, it was clearly an indigenous thing. It was a Kashmiri boy radicalised by the brutality of security forces, he blew himself up." 

"But because this group claimed responsibility which was in India as well, Jaish-e-Muhammad was operating in India but Pakistan suddenly came into the limelight. So even before this had happened, we decided to disarm all militant groups," he added. 

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Here are all the times Pakistan has denied involvement in the Pulwama terror attack:

February 15- Pakistan Rejects link to Pulwama 

Pakistan summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and lodged a protest against India's allegation of its role. 

The summoning of the Indian diplomat comes after India summoned Pakistan HC to India Sohail Mahmood and issued a very strong demarche over the killing of the CRPF soldiers.

The attack in Pulwama in Kashmir is "a matter of grave concern", the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement.

February 19- Imran Khan denies a role

Denying any complicity in an attack that has already been claimed by Masood Azhar's UN-designated terror organisation- JeM, the Pakistan Prime Minister, in his first response, questioned India for blaming the country without evidence and for every attack in Kashmir. 

He said, "How can India blame us without any evidence? Why will we do this when we are on the road of development? If they only have to blame Pakistan, then how can we move on? How we will resolve the Kashmir issue if they only blame Pakistan for every attack in Kashmir."

He further added that India should "stop blaming Pakistan without any proof or evidence" and urged Indian authorities to share any "actionable intelligence".

The MEA said Imran Khan has neither chosen to condemn the Pulwama terror attack nor condoled with the bereaved families.

March 1 and March 4, 2019- Mehmood Qureshi admission on Masood Azhar and JeM

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi admitted that UN-designated terrorist, Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and is "unwell" on March 1, further said the government can act against him only if India presents "solid" and "inalienable" evidence that can stand in a court of law. 

On March 4, during his interview with an international media organisation, he had found himself in an unsettled spot when he made a gaffe and slipped in the conversation as to how Islamabad is in contact with the terror organisation, Jaish-e-Mohammed. 

He said, "They have not claimed responsibility. There is confusion on that. The confusion is, the leadership had contacted them, they said no."

The Pakistani Foreign Minister was quick to back the terror organisation, while he did not refuse its base in Pakistan, he went ahead to defend Jaish-e-Mohammed saying, "they have not claimed responsibility." 

February 17- Pakistan Minister Fawad Chaudhry refuses to hold JeM responsible

Speaking to an Indian news outlet, Imran Khan's Minister "doubted" the ability of Jaish-e-Mohammed to perpetrate the terror attack. In a telephonic interview to the news media outlet, he further added that the terror organisation is 'well under control.'

March 28, 2019- Pakistan sham over the dossier 

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry dismissing the dossier said that it was mostly based on 'social media content.' 

"While 54 detained individuals are being investigated, no details linking them to Pulwama have been found so far,” said the ministry, handing the findings to India. 

New Delhi expressed its disappointment over Pakistan's response to the dossier sent to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan on the JeM’s complicity in the Pulwama terror attack.

July 24- Imran Khan- Pulwama attack clearly indigenous

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan asserting his duplicity towards terror in a gigantic admission has claimed that the UN-designated terrorist Masood Azhar's Jaish-e-Mohammed in 'operative in India.'

Islamabad has never condemned the Pulwama terror attack. However, Pakistan has been a recipient of global backlash over their intimacy with terror, and along with India, even the US asserted that Pakistan has to take 'sustained' and 'irreversible' steps against terrorists before Khan's maiden visit to Washington. 

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Pakistan's sham on terror has been exposed to multiple occasions, the recent one being on LeT chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed's arrest. 

A week before Khan's maiden visit to the US, Islamabad made another sham arrest of US-designated terrorist and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, for the 8th time. 

Here's an account of the times he was arrested:

• December 2001
• May 2002
• October 2002
• August 2006 (twice)
• December 2008
• September 2009
• January 2017

Former CIA Director Gen David Petraeus busted the Pakistani Prime Minister's lie, saying that he is "convinced" that the Pakistani intelligence agencies did not know Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan, countering Prime Minister Imran Khan's claims that the ISI provided a lead to the CIA that helped the US track down and kill the al-Qaeda chief in 2011.