Islamabad has categorically rejected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks about Pakistan-India relations as “misleading and one-sided.”
The statement comes in response to the Indian premier’s interview with US-based podcaster Lex Fridman, where he accused Pakistan of fostering terrorism and claimed that every effort by India to normalise ties had been met with hostility.
He also mentioned the presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, calling the country a “global epicentre of terrorism.”
In a statement on Monday, a Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said Modi’s remarks “conveniently omit the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, which remains unresolved for the last seven decades despite India’s solemn assurances to the United Nations, Pakistan, and the Kashmiri people.”
The spokesperson said, “India’s fictitious narrative of victimhood cannot hide its involvement in fomenting terrorism on Pakistan’s soil and the state-sanctioned oppression in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK).”
The spokesperson called on India to reflect on its “own record of orchestrating targeted assassinations, subversion, and terrorism in foreign territories” instead of shifting blame.
The FO reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to “constructive engagement and result-oriented dialogue” to resolve all outstanding disputes, including the Jammu and Kashmir issue. However, the Foreign Office asserted that “peace and stability in South Asia have remained hostage to India’s rigid approach and hegemonic ambitions.”
“The anti-Pakistan narrative emanating from India vitiates the bilateral environment and impedes the prospects for peace and cooperation. It must stop,” the statement added.
Comments