ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly dismissed allegations of support for militancy on Monday after the foreign minister of India accused it of supporting terrorists and having made terrorism the state policy to counter its arch-rival neighbour.
Addressing a counter-terrorism summit in the capital of New Delhi, S. Jaishankar said “some countries repeatedly support terrorists and have made terrorism their state policy“, according to Hindustan Times.
“It is important that all states collectively follow an undifferentiated and undiluted approach to terrorism. Terror is terror, and no political spin can ever justify it,” said Jaishankar in a veiled attack on Pakistan and China, according to Republic World.
Responding to the allegations, the Foreign Office said: “India, guided by its incorrigible and incurable desire to malign Pakistan at every available forum, continues to mislead the world about Pakistan’s counter-terrorism credentials by repeatedly levelling false accusations of Islamabad’s alleged involvement in the financing of illegal terrorist organisations.”
India’s hollow rhetoric has fallen flat in the face of Pakistan’s successful counterterrorism measures, which have been accorded due recognition and acknowledgement from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Foreign Office said in a statement.
It mentioned that Pakistan’s robust and credible AML (anti-money laundering) and CFT (counter financing of terrorism) actions, and satisfactory implementation of the FATF action plan duly secured Islamabad’s removal from the so-called grey list in October.
“Regrettably, India is continuing its relentless terror campaign in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“There is no justification for India’s state-sponsored terrorism in the occupied region where its security forces terrorise, torment and torture innocent Kashmiris with impunity, every day.
“Most deplorably, India has been harbouring and protecting terrorists for decades. In 2019, it acquitted Swami Aseemanand, the main character of the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast that killed 43 Pakistan nationals on Indian soil.”
The Foreign Office also recalled that in October, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the premature release of 11 Hindu men who were convicted for the 2002 gangrape of a pregnant Muslim woman, Bilkis Bano, and the murder of 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter.
In a similar manner, during the trial in 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India deliberately withheld witnesses and credible evidence from Pakistan, despite repeated requests over the last 14 years, only to drag and perpetuate the case to serve its sinister political agenda, it added.
India’s involvement in inciting terrorism inside Pakistan is widely established and documented, the Foreign Office recalled.
It added that in November 2020, Pakistan released a comprehensive dossier providing evidence of India’s involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan.
“The convicted, serving Indian naval commander Kulbhushan Yadav is undeniable proof of India’s direct involvement in sabotage and terror. Indian links to TTP (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan) and other elements inimical to Pakistan inside Afghanistan are also well known.”
The Foreign Office also urged the world to hold India accountable for its actions in occupied Kashmir, its patronage of militant groups, and for fomenting terrorism in neighbouring nations.
India is also advised to immediately reform and rectify its credentials on terrorism and desist from shamelessly levelling false accusations against Pakistan for selfish political interests, the Foreign Office added.
