"What did I say wrong?" Nawaz Sharif on Lashkar hand in 26/11 attacks
On a day when Pakistan's top civil-military body rejected Nawaz Sharif's comments on 26/11, the former Prime Minister defended his comments on terror group Lashkar-e -Tayiba's role in the attacks that killed 166 people in Mumbai in 2008. The embattled former PM of Pakistan, while talking to the media outside a court in Islamabad on Monday said, "What did I say that was wrong in the (Dawn) interview?" Mr Sharif said he will "speak the truth no matter what the consequences are."
"Former president Pervez Musharraf, former interior minister Rehman Malik and former National Security Adviser Major-General (retd) Mehmood Durrani had already confirmed [what I said]," Mr Sharif added.
Responding to a question by reporters on "non-state actors" Mr Sharif's daughter Maryam, who was with him at the court today, said "Who was Zarb-i-Azb conducted against?" Operation Zarb-e-Azb was a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistani armed forces against terror groups in 2014.
In an interview to a Pakistani newspaper, Mr Sharif on Sunday had said, terror groups are active in Pakistan and questioned the policy to allow the "non-state actors" to cross the border and "kill" people in Mumbai. He had also questioned why the 26/11 probe was not concluded.
Mr Sharif's remarks have put his party, the PML-N in a spot. Less than 24 hours ago his brother Shahbaz Sharif, who is now the chief of the party had issued a statement saying, the remarks have been "
grossly misinterpreted by the Indian media" and the PML-N "rejects all claims made in the report, be they direct or indirect."
After Mr Sharif defended his 26/11 comments, differences within the ruling party have surfaced, say media reports in Pakistan.
This morning a high level meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, was held to discuss the situation arising out of the comments made by Mr Sharif. The NSC meeting was attended by Pakistan's top ministers, military commanders, intelligence chiefs, National Security Advisor and the foreign secretary. After the meeting the NSC rejected Mr Sharif's comments as incorrect, misleading and unfortunate.
The government has said the
Nawaz Sharif's statement on the 26/11 terror attacks has vindicated India's stand. "It's a serious disclosure. We strongly believe that the handlers were in Pakistan. This only proves India's stand has been right all the way," defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Mr Sharif was forced to step down as the Prime Minister of Pakistan after the country's Supreme Court disqualified him for life from holding any public office, following corruption charges.