It has taken them quite a while to admit it even though the world, and not just India, knew it since February 14, 2019. In a much-delayed admission of his country playing a major role in sponsoring terrorism in India, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry today boasted about his government's "success" in Pulwama while speaking during the ongoing session of the National Assembly in Islamabad.

As many as 40 men from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were martyred when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber had attacked their convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in February, last year. The Indian Air Force had carried out an aerial strike at the terror training camps in Balakot in Pakistan immediately after to avenge the terror attack.

"<em>Humne Hindustan ko ghus ke maara hai Janab-e-Speaker wahan pe… Aur, Pulwama mein jo hamari kamyaabi hai, vo Imran Khan ki kiyadat mein is kaum ki kamyaabi hai, uske hissedaar aap aur hum sab hai</em>," (We hit India in their own territory. Our success in Pulwama is success of the people of Pakistan under the leadership of Imran Khan. You and us are all part of that success) Chaudhry said on the floor of the House.

Pakistan has for decades sponsored cross-border terrorism against India; it continues to remain on the grey list of global terror-financing watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Today's admission by a senior member of Prime Minister Imran Khan's cabinet further strengthens the long-standing demand being made by several experts from all over the world to blacklist the 'rogue state' immediately.

Still not in a mood to learn lessons from the past, the Pakistani politicians continue to make the grave mistake of focusing on India instead of the deteriorating situation at home. So much so that their Parliament is rocked by debates centering India almost every day. In fact, Chaudhry boasted about Pulwama today to counter the statement made by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentarian and former speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq yesterday.

Detailing the events which led to the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman—the Indian Air Force pilot who had landed across the border after an aerial dogfight with the Pakistani jets post-Balakot airstrikes—the PML-N leader told Parliament about Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's meeting with the top opposition leaders.

"Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was present in the meeting which Imran Khan had refused to attend. Army chief General (Qamar Javed) Bajwa was perspiring and his legs were shaking when Qureshi said that India would have attacked that night if Pakistan did not release Abhinandan by 9 p.m. He begged to opposition to let release Abhinandan," revealed Sadiq during his speech, the video of which has gone viral.

These are indeed turbulent times for Khan's government. The 11-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is organizing massive rallies all over the country, warning that the ruling government's days are numbered now.

Last week, during <a href="https://indianarrative.com/balochistan/call-for-independent-balochistan-from-all-party-platform-18866.html">one such rally in Quetta</a>, Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP) leader Maulana Shah Owais Noorani called for the creation of an "independent" Balochistan—a province which has witnessed death and discrimination at the hands of Pakistani authorities for decades.

The rally was also addressed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif via video link from London.

It was for the first time that slogans of "independent Balochistan" were raised from an all-party platform in Pakistan following which the government accused the opposition of promoting "India's narrative" and is now seriously considering of putting curbs on holding public meetings.

Not surprising if that happens in a country where free speech has been stifled.

"The state is responsible for protecting and promoting citizens' right to free speech. We, however, are witnessing a worrying trend towards the opposite—a chilling effect on open discussion and debate, fuelled by the use (and abuse) of outmoded and draconian legal provisions incompatible with democracy," Pakistan's leading daily <em>Dawn</em> expressed its concern in an editorial a few weeks ago.

Meanwhile a lot many '<em>kaboolnamas</em>' (confessions) and dramatic scenes are expected from Pakistan National Assembly in the coming days.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;.