Sharif Ready for “Neutral Investigation,” Bhagwat Signals Pakistan be “Taught a Lesson”

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Apr 26: Nervous over the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s warning that Pakistan will have to face a response “beyond its imagination,” the Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday showed his readiness to go for a “neutral investigation” into the Pahalgam terror attack even as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat gave a signal to the BJP government at the Centre to “teach a lesson” to the incorrigible neighbour.

In a veiled message after the Pahalgam terror attacks in which 26 people were killed, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said non-violence was India’s religion and a key part of its values, but so was teaching a lesson to “oppressors and hooligans.”

Speaking at an event to mark the release of the book ‘The Hindu Manifesto’ in New Delhi on Saturday, Mr Bhagwat also gave the example of Ravan and said he was killed not to harm him but for his own good. “We never harm or disrespect our neighbours but if someone is bent on being evil, what is the cure? The king’s duty is to protect the people and he will do his duty. The Gita teaches non-violence, but the teaching is to ensure that Arjun fights and kills. Because he was confronted with people whose development could only be done this way,” Mr Bhagwat said.

His message comes in the wake of Mr Sharif virtually begging for a halt to any coercive action by India stating that his country was open to take part in “any credible investigation.” Addressing a graduation ceremony at the Pakistan Military Academy in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Mr Sharif said, “The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt. Continuing with its role as a responsible country, Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation,” Mr Sharif said.

Apparently at the behest of the Pakistani authorities, “The Resistance Front” (TRF), an off-shoot of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which claimed credit for the Pahalgam massacre within hours of the attack, on Saturday withdrew its claim stating that he had nothing to do with the incident. The TRF’s statement comes in the wake of the global condemnation over the attack on the innocent tourists and Pakistan’s increasing isolation for propping up terrorism and harbouring and funding terror groups engaged in cross-border infiltrations.

“Pakistan has always condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Mr Sharif added. “Pakistani armed forces remain fully capable and prepared to defend the country’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity against any misadventure.”

But Mr Sharif’s offer of “credible investigation notwithstanding, the Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto on Saturday issued a “threat of bloodbath” if India “dared” to stop Indus water flow to his country, evoking a sharp response from the union minister Hardeep Singh Puri advising Bhutto to “drown himself in  water.”

Addressing a meeting of his party workers at Sukkur in Sindh province, Mr Bhutto had said, “The Indus is ours and will remain ours – either our water will flow through it, or their blood.”

Responding to Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s statement, Mr Puri remarked, “I heard his statement. Tell him to jump somewhere in water. Well, how will he when there will be no water? Do not dignify such statements. They will get to understand that.”

“The Pahalgam incident is unequivocally a cross-border terrorist attack unleashed by a neighbouring state, and they are taking responsibility. Unlike before, no business will continue. Like Prime Minister Modi said, Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price, and this is just the beginning. The terrorists take away the most fundamental right to life. This is being condemned by the entire world. Pakistan is not just a rogue state, it is a country in terminal decline,” he added.

Mr Puri also commented on the throat-slitting gesture made by Colonel Taimur Rahat, the Pakistan Army and Air Advisor at the Pakistan High Commission in London. “This is state-sponsored terrorism. We have reached a point where they will have to pay a price. If they (Pakistan) think that they can survive the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, I wish them best of luck,” he said.