FO spokesperson Aisha Farooqui. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Pakistan has said that unabated belligerent rhetoric emanating from India shows the toxic extremist mindset of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership has sunk deep in to India’s state institutions.
The statement was made by the Foreign Office hours after India’s self-aggrandizing prime minister, Narendra Modi, claimed his country could defeat Pakistan in war in less than 10 days.
The nuclear-tipped neighbours have fought three wars and last February came close to a fourth with tit-for-tat airstrikes sparked by a terrorist attack on Indian troops in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K).
Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said Pakistan completely rejects Modi’s “irresponsible and war-mongering” remarks.
“These remarks are another reflection of India’s incurable obsession with Pakistan and the BJP government and leadership’s desperate attempts to divert attention from growing domestic and international criticism of their discriminatory, anti-Kashmir and anti-minority policies,” she said in the statement.
In August last year, the Modi government revoked the constitutional semi-autonomous status of IOJ&K and placed the entire disputed territory under siege which continues to this day. Pakistan has termed the move a “clear violation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions”.
“The Indian prime minister’s threats and provocative statements further illustrate the extremist mindset that pervades the BJP leadership and has evidently permeated the state institutions in India,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said.
Modi claims India can defeat Pakistan 'in 10 days'
Earlier this month, the new Indian army chief, Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane, also threatened to “take control of” Azad Jammu and Kashmir, should India’s government and parliament give such an order.
India’s belligerent posturing has spiked since its bitter military misadventure in Pakistan last February when its warplanes made an abortive attempt to carry out a clandestine mission in Pakistan.
They fled in haste after Pakistani fighter jets intercepted them – but before fleeing they dropped their payloads at an unfrequented mountainous region in Balakot district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Later, New Delhi projected it as a “surgical strike” on a terror camp – a claim that was shredded to pieces by Pakistan which took international media on a tour of the impact site to unmask India.
However, the next day Pakistani fighter jets gave India a bitter reprisal when they locked military targets deep inside IOJ&K and fired munitions at a distance to give New Delhi a message what Pakistan can do.
The broad daylight airstrike triggered an aerial battle between the two countries in which two Indian warplanes were shot down. The pilot of one of the downed jets was captured in further embarrassment to India – only to be released as a goodwill gesture.
The Foreign Office spokesperson reminded India of that misadventure. “Pakistan’s immediate and effective response to India’s Balakot misadventure, including the downing of Indian fighter aircraft and capture of Indian pilot last year, should suffice to underscore the will, capacity and preparedness of our armed forces,” Aisha Farooqui said.
“No one should underestimate the resolve of the people and the armed forces of Pakistan to effectively thwart any aggressive action,” she added.
At the same time she urged the international community to take cognisance of the Indian leadership’s continuing belligerent rhetoric and aggressive measures, which pose a threat to regional peace and security.
“We hope steps would be taken to facilitate peaceful resolution of the Jammu &Kashmir dispute for durable peace and stability in South Asia,” she added.
Earlier in the day, the Indian prime minister claimed that his country is now capable of making Pakistan “bite the dust” in less than 10 days. “Our armed forces will not take more than 7-10 days to make Pakistan bite the dust,” Modi said in a speech to military personnel on Tuesday.
Modi is under pressure after weeks of ongoing protests against a new citizenship law, a slowing economy and the prospect of losing the latest in a string of state elections in New Delhi next month. Modi’s BJP party has always raised the bogey of war with Pakistan to sell to its rightwing voters in elections.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly spotlighted India’s provocative statements. He has said that Pakistan does not want a war with India, but at the same time, it cannot remain oblivious to the challenges posed to its security and integrity.
“We are prepared to give the enemy the fullest possible response. Failing, the world community will be responsible for the catastrophic aftermath,” he warned.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ