Pahalgam killings: Owaisi urges Centre to shut Indian airspace for Pakistan

Asaduddin Owaisi

AIMIM president and MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday urged the Union government to launch a cyber offensive against Pakistan using its ethical hackers and to shut down Indian airspace for the neighbouring country.

Speaking during his visit to Hyderabad, Owaisi was responding to the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam. "There cannot be anything worse than killing innocents, and that too by asking their religion. The act of terrorism committed by the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists needs to be given a befitting reply at all levels," Owaisi said.

Criticising Pakistan's former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for his inflammatory remarks about India, Owaisi asked, "He (Bilawal) has just entered politics. Who killed his mother? If he cannot understand the fact that his mother was killed by their home-grown terrorists, what else will he understand?"

Owaisi further stressed that India should push for Pakistan’s inclusion once again in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, citing that Pakistan continues to use illicit funds to fuel terrorism. "Pakistan is using black money to fund terrorism. Indian govt should make efforts to get Pakistan included in the FATF grey list so that the terror funding can be brought to check," he said.

The Hyderabad MP added that Pakistan wants to instigate communal riots in India and that “our Hindu brothers were killed” by terrorists in Pahalgam to send a message that “non-Muslims cannot” visit Kashmir. "The differences between communities make the country weak from within and serve the purpose of Pakistan," he said.

When asked about former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi’s baseless accusations against India, Owaisi dismissed him as a "joker" and said, "He is not even worth replying to."

Earlier on Sunday, Owaisi said that though Pakistan's standard time was 30 minutes behind India's, but in reality, the Islamic republic was lagging behind India by half a century. "Our military budget is bigger than Pakistan’s national budget. Pakistani leaders should not threaten India with a nuclear war. They should remember that if they kill innocent people in another country, no one will remain silent," Owaisi said in Maharashtra on Sunday.