ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office “firmly rejected” what it said was a “spate” of terrorism-linked “assertions” — one of them claiming Islamabad was planning a Mumbai-style attack inside the neighbouring nation — India peddled through its newspapers.
Pointing to a variety of news reports involving Pakistan that recently appeared in the Indian press, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, the Foreign Office spokesperson, Sunday said India, in an attempt to build on its “orchestrated terrorism narrative against Pakistan,” has claimed interception of a conversation from a Pakistan-registered WhatsApp number.
New Delhi also claimed to have seized an “empty boat” in the western state of Maharashtra along with some assault rifles, he recalled. Some segments of the Indian media sought to link these to “preposterous claims about a so-called Mumbai-style attack being planned,” he added.
On Thursday, Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister of the state, conceded that the “abandoned boat” belonged to an Australian woman travelling from Muscat to Europe, Hindustan Times reported.
In a similar manner, the Indian media also reported that the country’s intelligence and border forces were on high alert for possible “cross-border infiltration” along Rajauri district in occupied Kashmir, the statement said.
Ahmad completely rejected the report. “All this is nothing but a continuation of the sinister Indian design to yet again raise the terrorism bogey to malign Pakistan. We reject these allegations and Indian machinations outrightly,” he said.
“This mischievous Indian propaganda campaign and baseless allegations against Pakistan reflect India’s utter desperation emanating from its complete failure to break the will of the Kashmiri people in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“The possibility of a choreographed ‘false flag activity’ to target Pakistan and negatively affect its political and economic interests cannot be ruled out, as Indian propaganda is pointing in that direction,” the statement added.
“New Delhi must recognise that no amount of its false propaganda can deter Pakistan from exposing India’s brutalisation of the Kashmiri people through an unabated military siege, indiscriminate use of force, extra-judicial killings, incarceration of Kashmiri leaders and youth, the crackdown on the media and rights activists, and denial of access to international human rights and humanitarian organisations.
“While strongly denouncing the latest Indian insinuations and allegations, Pakistan calls upon India not to make any mistake again. Pakistan stands ready and resolute and is fully capable of effectively responding to any misadventure as was manifestly evident in response to India’s ill-advised and irresponsible action in February 2019,” the spokesperson said, referring to when Indian warplanes violated Pakistan’s airspace before being shot down by the air force.
Pakistan also captured one of the pilots but returned him to India days later as a peace gesture.
“Pakistan also urges the international community to take immediate cognizance of the fact that India is yet again resorting to classic ‘false flag’ methods to advance its sinister designs and that this could have serious implications for peace and security in the region. The international community must urge India to act responsibly.”
The Foreign Office said India should also be held accountable for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in occupied Kashmir.
“The realisation of sustainable peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia remains contingent upon peaceful resolution of the long-standing Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” the statement said.
