The spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs lashed out at Pakistan on Sunday for accusing India of sponsoring terrorist activities in Pakistan. He denounced Pakistan’s claims of having “irrefutable evidence” against the Indian sponsorship of terrorism as mere “figments of imagination.” He also said that by these accusations, Pakistan is attempting to divert attention from its own internal activities.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava called Pakistan’s accusations as “another futile anti-India propaganda exercise.” When questioned on the Pakistani allegations, Srivastava said that the claims of ‘proof’ against India have no credibility; they “are fabricated, and represent figments of imagination.”
Srivastava responded to accusations made by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during a press conference that Pakistan has “irrefutable evidence” of India’s sponsorship of terrorism on its land. Qureshi said that Pakistan will soon produce the dossier of ‘proofs’ before the United Nations.
Srivastava also mentioned several instances where Pakistan had “admitted” its involvement in terrorist activities. He said that Osama Bin Laden was found in Pakistan, and the Pakistani prime minister called him a ‘martyr’ on the parliament floor. Pakistan’s “science and technology minister proudly claimed involvement and success of Pakistan, led by its prime minister, in the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 Indian soldiers were martyred”, he said.
He also accused Pakistan of “cross-border terrorism” and said that “concocting documents and peddling narratives” will not absolve Pakistan of its actions. He said that Pakistan has become a “factory of terrorists”, a “fact” that Pakistani leaders have never hidden.
Pakistan to present ‘irrefutable evidence’ to UN
Qureshi, in the presence of DG ISPR Gen Babar Iftikhar, said that Pakistan has enough evidence to incriminate India for fomenting terrorism in the country. “India has prepared a plan to destabilize Pakistan,” he said.
He said that India is trying to “breathe life into” “banned outfits” like the Baloch Liberation Army, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and Jamaatul Ahrar. He said that Pakistan had “flushed out” these organizations, but India is now supplying them with ammunition and Improvised Explosive Devices. They are being provoked to target religious scholars, notables, police officials and security forces, he added.
Qureshi claimed that there have been at least four meetings between the Indian intelligence officials and the said outfits, which have subsequently launched attacks in Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi.
“We have irrefutable evidence that RAW and DIA — their intel agencies — are financing terrorism in Pakistan and training terrorists, harbouring them and taking practical steps to promote terrorism,” he claimed.
The foreign minister said that India’s objective is to hinder Pakistan’s progress towards peace. He said that the “terrorist attacks” in Balochistan were in sync with the announcement of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, implying that these attacks were aimed to obstruct the multi-billion project that offers favourable prospects of Pakistan’s future.
The DG ISPR gave “details” of the “terrorist attacks” in Pakistan that allegedly had Indian backing – like the attack on Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar by Baloch insurgents. He said that 17 tapped phone recordings were obtained of the exchange between one of the orchestrators of the attack and the RAW handlers.
He said that India is not only funding the “terrorist outfits”, but also supplying them with “ammunition, improvised explosive devices and equipment.” He said that Pakistan has discovered network six coordinators which had links to the attack on Pakistan Stock Exchange.
Gen Iftikhar Babar also claimed that a former Indian ambassador and an Indian army general visited a “Baloch militant training camp” in Afghanistan which houses 150 insurgents.
DG ISPR claimed that they have “incontrovertible evidence” that Indian embassies and consulates straddling the Pak-Afghan border were “hub of terror sponsorship” against Pakistan. He also listed a number of other Indian embassies, claiming that they have been regularly supervising “terrorist activities” against Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s stance on Pakistani allegations
The Afghan Foreign Ministry rejected Pakistan’s allegations of India using the Afghan soil to train “militants” and supplying them with ammunition and ordnance via the Afghan networks in a statement issued on Sunday. The statement said that Afghanistan, being a “major victim of terrorism”, is committed to combating all forms of terrorism around the world without discrimination.
The statement said that the Afghan government and people will continue to coordinate global efforts of combating terrorism.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called on the United Nations to appoint an internationally competent delegation of the Security Council to examin the claims made by the Pakistani government. The statement also said that Afghanistan expects to raise the issues of bilateral interest in the upcoming visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to Afghanistan.
TTP slams Pakistan for accusations
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has released a statement in reaction of the Pakistani Foriegn Minister and Army General’s allegations saying that accusation of taking funds from India is an attempt by Pakistan Army to cover up its own failures.
TTP spokesperson, Mohammed Khurasani said that army’s slave media is trying to give the impression that the TTP has been receiving fundings from India by presenting fabricated reports. “We completely deny these reports,” he added.
The spokesperson further said that the purpose of such fabricated press conferences is nothing but to cover up the failures of the Pakistan Army, such as the recent issue of Indian aggression in the Neelam Valley, Pakistan Army suppressed the news instead of responding on it. On the other hand the army is bombing the tribal areas and Baloch people and conducting operations in these areas using the US and other foreign funds, which is not hidden from anyone.
The spokesman added: “We urge the people not to listen to the army who wants to end the struggle for legitimate demands in the country, but to read the situation and context and try to find out how much false propaganda the Pakistan army has been using for the last two or three years to cover up its political and military failures.”
‘Press conference was a reflection of the defeat’
The head of an armed group, Baloch Republican Army, Gulzar Imam responded to the aforementioned joint press conference of Pakistani officials in a tweet, saying that it was a “reflection of the defeat.”
He said that Baloch Raji Aajoi Sangar, an umbrella organization of Baloch pro-independence armed groups, has “shaken the foundations of the State and weakened occupied forces.” He said that the Baloch seek military and political support from the civilized and developed countries of the world for the liberation of their land.
‘We have the right to seek help from any country’
Dr Allah Nizar Baloch, the leader of the Baloch pro-independence armed group Balochistan Liberation Front, said in a Twitter thread that: “as a nation we have the right to seek help from any country.”
Responding to the claims made by the Pakistani minister and DG ISPR, he said that they must be “delirious or lost their senses to spread such lies.” Commenting on the claims of India’s sponsorship of terrorism in Balochistan, he said that if India had supported the Baloch struggle, the situation would’ve been different.