FO slams India’s statement on cross-border actions in Afghanistan as ‘absurd, unwarranted and hypocritical’

• FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi accuses India of sponsoring terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil

• Says India frustrated by destruction of its ‘terrorist franchise,’ stressing Delhi in no position to comment given its ‘shameful credentials’

• Criticizes through ‘Hindutva extremist ideology,’ India continues to ‘systematically marginalise its minorities, spread Islamophobia, and even weaponised water in contravention of its treaty obligations

 ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Sunday strongly rejected a statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs criticising Pakistan’s cross-border action in Afghanistan, terming the remarks “absurd, unwarranted and shamefully hypocritical,” and asserting that India’s “active support and sponsorship” of terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil — Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan — remained “well known.”

The response comes as Pakistan continues Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, launched in late February after what officials described as unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban from across the border.

A day earlier, Indian MEA spokesperson Shri Randhir Jaisal claimed that Pakistan’s strikes inside Afghanistan had caused the “death of several civilians” and described the action as an “act of aggression.”

Responding to the remarks, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi rejected the allegation, saying that India’s comments on Pakistan’s “legitimate, targeted and precise actions against terrorist hideouts and support bases inside Afghanistan are not only absurd and unwarranted but also shamefully hypocritical.”

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Statement by the Spokesperson in Response to Media Queries Regarding Pakistan’s Response to the Statement Issued by the Ministry of External Affairs of India
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— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) March 14, 2026

Fitna-al-Khawarij is the term used by the state for militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while Fitna-al-Hindustan refers to terrorist organisations operating in Balochistan.

Under these circumstances, Andrabi said India’s reaction reflected its “frustration at the destruction of its terrorist franchise in Afghanistan.”

“India, a serial violator of human rights and international law, continues to illegally occupy Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in violation of the United Nations Charter and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and has been responsible for perpetrating state terrorism in the occupied territory,” the FO statement said.

Andrabi further maintained that under its “Hindutva extremist ideology,” India continued to “systematically marginalise its minorities, spread Islamophobia, and has even weaponised water in contravention of its treaty obligations.”

“India has not only played the role of a spoiler in Afghanistan, but also across the entire region,” the statement added.

The FO stressed that India was in “no position” to issue such statements given its “shameful credentials,” and urged the neighbouring country to instead focus on refraining from “stoking terrorism inside Pakistan from Afghan soil.”

“For its part, Pakistan remains determined to take all appropriate actions in self-defence and to protect its citizens in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter,” the statement concluded.

Earlier, on March 10, during a debate on Afghanistan at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Pakistan also rebuffed India’s criticism of cross-border strikes.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said India’s remarks were “no surprise,” citing what he described as India’s “animosity towards Pakistan and the sole objective of its Afghan policy being to destabilise Pakistan.”

He further accused India of “actively supporting and sponsoring terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil, such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and the Baloch Liberation Army.”