Even after provided with “undeniable” evidence of involvement of Pak-based terrorists in the Uri attack, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today remained in the denial mode and termed as "India's long-time habit" the assertion that his country was behind the strike.
He told Pakistani journalists here that India blamed Pakistan for the attack on army camp in Uri within a few hours of the incident and claimed that questions are being raised on New Delhi's "haste".
"Investigation into such incidents requires many days and weeks," Sharif was quoted as saying by the Geo TV.
He described allegations against Pakistan as "India's long-time habit", the TV channel said.
He also claimed that India had never provided any evidence to prove its accusations.
His claim comes a day after Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit was summoned to the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi.
He was told that India has evidence showing involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in the Uri attack and demanded that Islamabad refrain from supporting and sponsoring terrorism directed against this country.
Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar provided Basit with the content of GPS recovered from the bodies of terrorists with coordinates that indicate the point and time of infiltration across the LoC and the subsequent route to the terror attack site and grenades with Pakistani markings as evidence of Pakistan's role in Uri attack in which 18 jawans were killed.
Sharif said that instead of hurling accusations on Pakistan, India should stop its "atrocities", claiming that it is involved in "serious human rights violations" in Kashmir.
"108 people have been martyred in Kashmir over the past two-and-a-half months and India is hurling allegations at Pakistan," the Prime Minister said.
According to the Pakistani media, Sharif said he had informed the leadership of the US, China, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey and some other countries about the prevailing "grave human rights situation" in Kashmir and "they all tried to understand Pakistan's position".
He said Turkey promised to send a fact-finding mission to Kashmir and a similar response was given by the Organisation of Islamic Countries.
Pakistan Foreign Office also rejected allegations of its involvement in the assault on an army camp in Uri town in Kashmir, saying it has "nothing to gain" from this attack.
Such incidents are part of the "Indian attempt to divert attention of the world community" from Kashmir, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said at the weekly briefing here.
"Pakistan has nothing to gain from this attack...It has become Indian habit to point accusing fingers at Pakistan after every such incident in India," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
