INDIA VOWS ‘HEAVY PRICE’ FOR KASHMIR ATTACK
Explosives packed van strikes Indian troop convoy and leaves dozens dead
INDIA and Pakistan’s troubled ties risked taking a dangerous new turn yesterday as New Delhi accused Islamabad of harbouring militants behind the deadliest bombing in three decades of bloodshed in Indian-administered Kashmir.
At least 44 paramilitary troops were killed on Thursday as explosives packed in a van ripped through a convoy bringing 2,500 troopers back from leave not far from the main city Srinagar.
Local media reported that the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed group claimed responsibility, with the vehicles driven by a known local militant, Aadil Ahmad alias Waqas Commando.
India’s Foreign Ministry said that Jaish-e-Mohammed head Masood Azhar “has been given full freedom by. Pakistan to operate and expand his terror infrastructure in territories under the control of Pakistan and to carry out attacks in India and elsewhere with impunity”.
“I want to tell the terrorist groups and their masters that they have committed a big mistake. They have to pay a heavy price,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday after an emergency cabinet meeting.
“If our neighbouring country thinks that it will succeed in creating instability through such acts and conspiracies in our country, they should stop dreaming. They will never succeed,” Modi said.
Islamabad, however, hit back at the suggestion.
“We strongly reject any insinuation by elements in the Indian media and government that seek to link the attack to Pakistan without investigations,” the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said.
Two blue buses of the Central Reserve Police Force in the 78vehicle convoy on the SrinagarJammu highway bore the brunt of the blast that was heard miles away.
“No one from the first bus survived,” a senior police official said, predicting the death toll could rise higher still.
In the aftermath of the bombing, hundreds of government soldiers cordoned off around 15 villages in the district the bomber came from and conducted houseto-house searches, a police officer and witnesses said.