(Photo: Agency)
Islamabad (People’s Daily) – "Violence is not the policy of the Pakistani government," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in response to India’s allegations that Pakistan was involved in a suicide attack that killed more than 40 paramilitary police in Indian-administered Kashmir, local media reported Saturday.

Qureshi made the remarks in an interview with Geo News in Germany, where he is attending the Munich Security Conference.

Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his country would give a “strong reply” to those behind the attack. His government later withdrew the Most Favored Nation’s trade status for Pakistan.

While condemning the attack, Foreign Minister Qureshi said he was “a little sad” to see that the allegations against Pakistan had been made without being substantiated, according to the report.

Qureshi asked the Indian government to share any “actionable evidence” against Pakistan, promising that Pakistan will “investigate it with integrity and see what the reality is.”

He added that Pakistan has always advocated peace, “Our message is of peace, not war,” he was quoted as saying.

Earlier on Friday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that the country has always condemned “heightened acts of violence” in the region.

"We strongly reject any insinuation by elements in the Indian government and media circles that seek to link the attack to the State of Pakistan without investigations," it read.