ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Army and the Foreign Office on Wednesday rebuked both the Indian defense minister and its army chief for beating a “dead horse”, saying blaming Pakistan for indigenous reaction to state-sponsored brutality in the Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir was New Delhi’s default position.
The reaction from Rawalpindi and the Foreign Office in separate statements came after Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi during his annual news conference on Monday claimed that in 2024, “60 per cent of the terrorists eliminated” in the Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) were allegedly of Pakistani origin. General Dwivedi further alleged that “80 percent of the remaining fighters in IoK were of Pakistani origin”.
But the army issued a strong rejoinder to the allegations. “Insinuating Pakistan as the epi-center of terrorism by the Indian army chief, is not only contrary to facts, but also an exercise in futility to beat a dead horse of India’s default position – blaming Pakistan for indigenous reaction to state-sponsored brutality. It is a classic case of extreme duplicity,” read a statement issued here by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
“[The] remarks are an attempt to deflect world’s attention from India’s brutality in the Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), repression of minorities internally and India’s trans-national repression,” it added.
It further said the general officer, in his earlier stint in llOJK personally oversaw the most brutal repression of Kashmiris. “Such politically-motivated and fallacious statements reflect the extreme politicisation of the Indian army.”
“The world is witness to the India’s hate-speech conclaves that provoke genocide against Muslims,” according to the ISPR.
It said the international community was not oblivious to India’s trans-national assassinations, and Indian Security Forces’ oppressive use of force against innocent civilians and gross human rights violations against unarmed Kashmiris.
“Such oppression has only served to strengthen the resolve of Kashmiris for their right of self-determination, enshrined in the UN Security Council resolutions,” the statement noted.
The military’s media wing said instead of trying to conjure up a non-existent terror infrastructure in Pakistan, it would be wise not to indulge in self-delusion, and appreciate the ground reality.
“The sobering fact that a senior serving Indian military officer is in Pakistan’s custody, caught red-handed while orchestrating acts of terror against innocent civilians inside Pakistan, seems to have been conveniently ignored by the general.”
It said Pakistan took strong exception to such baseless and unfounded statements.
“Empathizing with the victims of Indian army’s brutality, it is hoped that civility, professionalism, and norms of state-to-state behaviour would guide the conduct of Indian Army’s leadership, rather than pandering to political exigencies.”
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office, in its official statement, also strongly rejected the baseless accusations and unfounded assertions made by India’s Defence Minister and Chief of Army Staff on 13 and 14 January.
“Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognised disputed territory, whose final status is to be determined in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. In this context, India has no legal or moral grounds to assert fictitious claims over the territories of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan,” read the Foreign Office statement.
The Foreign Office said such rhetoric from Indian leadership cannot divert international attention from the grave human rights violations and oppressive measures being carried out in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“These actions suppress the legitimate and just struggle of the Kashmiri people for their inalienable right to self-determination.”
Pakistan also underscores that provocative statements of this nature are counterproductive to regional peace and stability.
Instead of leveling baseless allegations against others, India must introspect and address its own documented involvement in orchestrating targeted assassinations, acts of subversion, and state-sponsored terrorism in foreign territories, it stressed.
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