Sharif Refused to Condemn Uri Attack Despite US, UK Prodding

Instead of condemning the attack, Sharif said that the world had turned a blind eye to the killing of Kashmiris.

When the US and the UK asked Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to condemn the attack on the Indian Army camp in Uri, he flatly refused to denounce the assault.

According to The News International, both US Secretary of State John Kerry and British Prime Minister Theresa May asked Sharif to condemn the attack which left 20 soldiers dead, at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

But Sharif countered the two leaders over their silence regarding the unrest in the Kashmir Valley since 9 July, which claimed the lives of nearly 90 persons.

Sources said Sharif maintained that Islamabad could not condemn the attack over the death of security personnel when "India had no regret over its atrocities and brutalities" in the Valley.

Sharif said that the world, including London and Washington, had turned a blind eye to the deaths of Kashmiris in clashes with the security forces after the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani in July.

Pakistan also categorically rejected Indian allegations of Islamabad's involvement in the Uri attack.

However, Sharif said that Pakistan offered full cooperation to probe the incident. He claimed the attack was either an "Indian false flag operation" carried out to malign Pakistan and divert the world attention from Kashmir issue, or it was a "retaliatory attack by the oppressed Kashmiris who are facing the worst form of brutalities from the Indian state terrorism".

(With inputs from IANS)