Pakistan on Sunday dismissed India's allegations against them and said it was "totally baseless and irresponsible" to say it had orchestrated the attack on the Indian Army installation in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri. Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said, "India has a history of blaming Pakistan immediately after a terror attack, which always proved wrong in investigations... Pakistan always sought concrete evidence from India to prove its accusations, but it failed to do so."

The Pakistani Army had demanded "actionable intelligence" to back India's statement after the director generals of military operations of the two countries discussed security along the Line of Control, PTI reported. Indian DGMO Ranbir Singh had spoken to his Pakistani counterpart after they found "Pakistani markings" on items recovered from the militants who were gunned down in the Uri attack. As many as 17 soldiers died and 19 others were injured in the attack early on Sunday.

Investigation into the attack

Security personnel are investigating two points through which alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed militants had breached the Indian Army camp at Uri. One is at the perimeter of the base where the barbed wiring was cut, and the second is at the LoC near Uri in Kashmir's Baramulla district. JeM became a suspect in the carnage after a representative of the militant outfit contacted a local journalist from Kashmir to claim responsibility for the Uri attack, The Times of India reported. The militant outfit was also suspected to have orchestrated the January 2 attack on the Pathankot air base in Punjab this year.

The militants who stormed the 12 Brigade Army headquarters in Uri were reportedly members of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a banned terror group that recently began to work under the JeM, according to The Times of India. Military experts deciphered a map recovered from the militants, which had notes in Pashto language. It revealed that their mission was to kill unarmed soldiers, attack a medical aid unit near the administrative block and then blow themselves up in the officers' mess.

Political reactions

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who visited Srinagar on Sunday after the Uri attack, directed Army troops to "take firm action against those responsible". "The supreme sacrifice of 17 brave soldiers will not go in vain. My salute to them. [I have] reviewed the situation in Kashmir following Uri attack with Army chief and commanders," he said on Twitter.

The incident was condemned by senior politicians across India. Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh called Pakistan a "terrorist state" and warned that it will be left isolated if it continues to support terrorist activities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said the attack was an attempt at "creating a war-like situation" in the state, which has faced a crisis after Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani was killed in July.