Uri attack carried out to bring focus back on Kashmir, says Gilgit-Baltistan leader Senge

Gilgit-Baltistan National Congress President Senge Hasnan Sering said Monday that the terrorist attack on an Indian Army base in Uri which killed 17 soldiers, was an attempt by Pakistan to bring back focus back on the Kashmir issue which has otherwise diverted to Balochistan and Gilgit- Baltistan.

"I think it was an expected reaction from Pakistan as after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new policy, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan were taking the focus away from Kashmir and then Afghanistan President also joined in and he also started talking about Balochistan," Sering told ANI.

He said that the Uri incident will now bring the focus back on Kashmir especially, when Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend the 71st United Nations General Assembly and plans to highlight the Kashmir issue.

He added that the objective of the Pakistani military is to keep the Kashmir issue alive under any circumstances and alleged the valley is the biggest source of income for them.

"Pakistan has been very actively involved in the Kashmir issue. Whether its Jaish-e-Mohammed or Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Haqqani network or Taliban, these are the different faces of the same entity which is fully backed by the Pakistani military ," he said.