Pakistan Deputy PM calls Pahalgam terrorists 'freedom fighters', says move on Indus Water Treaty 'act of war'

Pakistan's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. (AP photo)

As India launched a counter-offensive against Islamabad in the wake of a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, Pakistan's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar called the terrorists “freedom fighters".

Even as Pakistan condemned the recent attack and denied claims of harbouring terror outfits, while speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Dar said, "Those who carried out attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam district on April 22 might be freedom fighters".

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His remarks came a day after India held in abeyance the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in a major diplomatic strike against Pakistan. The decision was made at the Cabinet Committee for Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening. Retaliating to the ghastly terror strike, New Delhi also cancelled all visas issued to Pakistanis, including those here for medical purposes.

Speaking on India’s massive move on the Treaty, Dar said that it was similar to an “act of war", according to a report by News18.

“240 million people in Pakistan need water. You cannot stop it. It is tantamount to an act of war. Any suspension or encroachment won’t be accepted," he said,

Dar also cautioned that if India threatens or attacks Pakistan, the country would respond with a similar retort. "If Pakistan is attacked directly, a tit-for-tat reply will be given," he said.

Escalating the rhetoric, Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif claimed that India is planning attacks across Pakistan. "We will make them pay through their noses. If our citizens are harmed by India, Indian citizens will not remain safe either. It will be tit-for-tat," Asif said, according to a report by India Today.

Terrorists launched a deadly attack on a prime tourist location at Baisaran meadows near Pahalgam, killing 26 civilians, mostly tourists. The assault marked the deadliest in the Kashmir Valley since the 2019 Pulwama attack. The Resistance Front (TRF), an affiliate of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has taken responsibility for the massacre.