Pahalgam attack: Pakistan PM Sharif says ready for ‘neutral’ investigation Today World News

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday (April 26, 2025) said he was ready for a “neutral” investigation into a deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam that left 26 dead, with India linking Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism”.

Also Read: Pahalgam attack live updates April 26, 2025

“Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation,” Mr. Sharif said while addressing a ceremony at a military academy in the city of Abbottabad.

Also read: Pakistan Senate passes resolution rejecting India’s ‘attempt’ to link Pahalgam terror attack with Islamabad

Furthermore, he said the Armed forces were “prepared to defend the country’s sovereignty”.

“Our valiant armed forces remain fully capable and prepared to defend the country’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity against any misadventure as clearly demonstrated by its measured yet resolute response to India’s reckless incursion in February 2019,” he added.

Islamabad denies involvement in the April 22 attack targeting tourists, where terrorists opened fire in the popular Baisaran meadow in Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

Since the attack, both sides have unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with India putting the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines.

Both sides have imposed a slew of diplomatic measures, while Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire overnight in Kashmir for a second day running, the Indian Army said on Saturday (April 26, 2025).

India’s Army said “unprovoked” small arms firing was carried out by “multiple” Pakistan Army posts overnight.

“Indian troops responded appropriately with small arms,” it said in a statement, adding that no casualties were reported.

There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan, but the two sides had confirmed gunfire between their respective forces the previous night.

The United Nations has urged the neighbours, who have fought multiple wars in the past, to show “maximum restraint”.

U.S. President Donald Trump has downplayed the tensions, saying that the dispute will get “figured out, one way or another”.

‘Track and punish’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 24, 2025) said his country would “track and punish every terrorist and their backer”, vowing to “pursue them to the ends of the Earth”.

Pakistan’s Sharif said the country was “open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation” in the attack.

Also read: India-Pakistan relations post Pahalgam terror attack | A timeline

Islamabad in response ordered the expulsion of Indian diplomats and military advisers, cancelling visas for Indian nationals — with the exception of Sikh pilgrims — and closing the main border crossing from its side.

Pakistan also warned that any attempt by India to stop water supplies from the Indus River would be an “act of war”.