Pakistan rejects India's 'baseless' criticism over Afghanistan strikes

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday strongly dismissed India’s criticism of its recent counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan, calling New Delhi’s remarks “baseless, misleading and unwarranted.”

The response came after India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned Pakistan’s overnight airstrikes in Kabul and Nangarhar, carried out under “Operation Ghazab lil-Haq,” and described them as a threat to regional peace.

A day earlier, Pakistan said it had targeted “Camp Phoenix,” a former US military base now allegedly used by Afghan Taliban forces. Afghan authorities, however, claimed the strikes hit a drug rehabilitation centre.

In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi rejected India’s position, accusing it of double standards and involvement in destabilising activities against Pakistan from Afghan territory.

He said India’s remarks reflected “blatant hypocrisy and duplicity,” alleging that New Delhi had a history of sponsoring terrorism and acting as a regional spoiler.

The spokesperson also criticised India’s domestic and foreign policies, alleging discrimination against Muslims and support for actions causing civilian suffering abroad.

Andrabi further argued that India had long undermined the sovereignty of neighbouring states and had no standing to comment on international law or regional stability. He reiterated Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir, accusing India of denying Kashmiris their right to self-determination in violation of UN resolutions.

He concluded by urging India to stop backing militant groups operating from Afghan soil and to refrain from criticising Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts.