Pulwama terror attack: India withdraws Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan

At least 37 security personnel were martyred after Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM) militants targeted the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy with a car bomb in Awantipora in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, in one of the worst attack on security forces in the state in the last few years.  In a stern message to isolate Pakistan globally, India announced its decision to withdraw the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ status granted to Pakistan. The dastardly attack was strongly condemned by the Indian government, with Prime Minister on Friday pledging that perpetrators of the cowardly attack will “pay a heavy price for it.”  Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh is also expected to visit Srinagar later today. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in an official statement accused Pakistan for the attack and added that the JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar had been “given the freedom to target India.”  The international community, including the US, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Russia, and Bangladesh condemned the dastardly attack on Indian security personnel. Notably, even as it condemned the Pulwama attack, Pakistan denied any involvement in it and said, “We strongly reject any insinuation by Indian media and government that seek to link the attack to Pakistan without investigations.”