Army soldiers near the site of suicide bomb attack in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Thursday, February 14, 2019. PTI

New Delhi, February 14

The Government of India has condemned the cowardly terrorist attack on security forces in Pulwama.

“This heinous and despicable act has been perpetrated by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation proscribed by the United Nations and other countries. This terror group is led by the international terrorist Masood Azhar, who has been given full freedom by Government of Pakistan to operate and expand his terror infrastructure in territories under the control of Pakistan and to carry out attacks in India and elsewhere with impunity,” Ministry of External Affairs said in a release.

The Government of India is firmly and resolutely committed to take all necessary measures to safeguard national security. “We are equally resolved to fight against the menace of terrorism. We demand that Pakistan stop supporting terrorists and terror groups operating from their territory and dismantle the infrastructure operated by terrorist outfits to launch attacks in other countries,” it added.

The MEA said, “We strongly reiterate our appeal to all members of the international community to support the proposal to list terrorists, including JeM chief Masood Azhar, as a designated terrorist under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council and to ban terrorist organisations operating from territories controlled by Pakistan.”

“We express our sincere condolences to the family members of our fearless security personnel who have made the supreme sacrifice.” — Agencies