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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday rejected India’s accusation it was behind a militant attack in Kashmir that triggered a war between the two countries this year, calling it a “distortion of facts” and questioning the timing of New Delhi’s claim India had killed the perpetrators ahead of a heated parliamentary session.

In a speech to the Indian parliament this week, Home Minister Amit Shah accused Pakistan of fomenting cross-border militancy and attempting to destabilize peace in Indian-administered Kashmir. He told Indian lawmakers the attack bore “clear signs of Pakistani involvement” and warned of “decisive consequences” if such incidents persisted.

Pakistan and India went to war in May that lasted for four days after an April gun attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir left 26 people dead. Without presenting any evidence, New Delhi accused Islamabad of orchestrating the assault, prompting Islamabad to deny the charge and call for an impartial international probe.

Shah also claimed Indian security forces had killed militants involved in the April attack in “an encounter.”

“Pakistan categorically rejects the baseless assertions and provocative claims made by the Indian leaders during the Lok Sabha [parliamentary] debate on the so-called Operation Sindoor,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told a weekly press briefing, referring to the title New Delhi gave to its war with Pakistan.

“These statements reflect a dangerous tendency to distort facts, justify aggression, and glorify conflict for domestic consumption,” he added. “The account given by the Indian home minister is replete with fabrications, leading to serious questions about its credibility.”

“Is it a mere coincidence that the alleged perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack were killed at the start of the Lok Sabha debate?” Khan questioned.

He said India had failed to achieve any strategic objectives, highlighting Pakistan’s success in neutralizing Indian fighter jets and military targets.

Khan urged Indian leaders not to mislead their people, but to acknowledge the losses suffered by their armed forces and recognize the role of third parties in facilitating the ceasefire.

“The Indian narrative of an alleged nuclear blackmail by Pakistan is a misleading and self-serving construct and an attempt to veil its own escalatory impulses while shifting blame onto Pakistan,” he said. “India’s continued reliance on disinformation, jingoism and chest-thumping risks destabilizing South Asia.”India and Pakistan have fought four major wars since their independence in 1947, largely driven by their competing claims over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir, which they both rule in part but claim in full.

KARACHI: Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates will participate in a tri-series of Twenty20 international matches to tune up for next month’s Asia Cup followed by the World Cup next year.

“The tri-series will feature teams from Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UAE from 29 August to 7 September at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Friday.

The T20I tournament will serve as a launching pad for the teams to prepare for the Asian Cricket Council’s T20 Asia Cup, scheduled to take place in the UAE from September 9 to 28, it added.

India and Sri Lanka will co-host the Twenty20 World Cup in February-March next year.

The opening match of the tri-series tournament will be played between Afghanistan and Pakistan on August 29.

Each team will play the others twice, giving all sides at least four matches before the top two teams qualify for the final, scheduled on September 7.

Tournament schedule (all matches at Sharjah Cricket Stadium):

29 August — Afghanistan v Pakistan

30 August — UAE v Pakistan

1 September — UAE v Afghanistan

2 September — Pakistan v Afghanistan

4 September — Pakistan v UAE

5 September — Afghanistan v UAE

7 September — Final