Not the time for finger-pointing on Pahalgam attack: Iltija Mufti

New Delhi: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti on Tuesday said that the hearts of every Kashmiri are “broken at the moment” in view of the Pahalgam terror attack and cautioned against indulging in a blame game over the incident at this juncture.

Talking to IANS, the daughter of former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also targeted Congress MP and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi for making provocative statements about terror attacks and the Indian government’s response to them now and in the past.

Iltija Mufti said, “Security in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 is under the Central government. But I don’t think it is the right time to indulge in finger-pointing over alleged lapses. They must be given time to investigate properly as to how this terror strike took place.”

She said the terror strike at a place like Baisaran Valley, visited by thousands of tourists, certainly needs an investigation to find out how the militants managed to reach that spot.

“Obviously, there has been a failure which led to such a big tragedy. There must be a full investigation into it,” she said.

She criticised Channi for issuing “baseless” and “provocative” remarks on surgical strikes.

“Politicians should observe restraint in such times. I don’t know why they indulge in such rhetoric at a time when we have lost so many lives,” she said.

Amid the talk of a possible Indian military response against Pakistan after the April 22 Pahalgam attack, Channi had ignited a major political storm by casting doubts on the 2019 surgical strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces across the Pakistan border in response to the Pulwama terror attack.

“No one saw where the surgical strike happened and how many were killed, or where in Pakistan it occurred. Nothing had happened. I have always demanded proof,” Channi haa said, questioning the widely publicised military operation that followed the killing of 40 CRPF personnel in Pulwama.

The remarks triggered immediate backlash from BJP leaders, who accused Channi and the Congress of undermining the armed forces and demoralising the nation.

IANS