Pakistan slams Modi's tweet on partition, calls it 'political stunt'

Pakistan on Saturday came down hard on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his tweet regarding partition of the Indian subcontinent, saying that no modern state is so much in contradiction with itself as the Indian state – the so-called ‘largest democracy’.

Taking to Twitter, the Indian premier had announced that August 14 — the independence day of Pakistan — will be observed as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’.

"Partition’s pains can never be forgotten. Millions of our sisters and brothers were displaced and many lost their lives due to mindless hate and violence. In memory of the struggles and sacrifices of our people, 14th August will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day," Modi wrote on his official handle.

Taking strong notice of the delusional tweet, the foreign office said: "As for Indian Prime Minister’s tweet about the events of 1947, no modern state is so much in contradiction with itself as the Indian state – the so-called 'largest democracy'."

The statement said that it is shameful that the practitioners of “Hindutva” ideology, and purveyors of hate and violence, would so hypocritically and one-sidedly invoke the tragic events and mass migration that occurred in the wake of Independence in 1947.

Read more: Partition stories: Journey to a land unknown

"Distorting history and stoking communalism is the forte of the RSS-BJP regime. Far from healing old wounds, they would go to any extent to sow further dissensions for electoral gains. We are sure that people of goodwill in India would completely reject this political stunt," the foreign office statement further said.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office also categorically rejected the ‘absurd remarks’ by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denying its involvement in the recent Dasu terrorist attack.

“Fully exposed, India typically resorts to sophistry, obfuscation and re-fabrication. Bland denials and regurgitation of a false narrative, however, will not change facts,” Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in a statement.

Pakistan had repeatedly presented irrefutable evidence of India’s active planning, promoting, aiding, abetting, financing and execution of terrorist activities in Pakistan, the spokesperson said.

"Pakistan had presented a detailed dossier to the international community last year. Recently, it also presented evidence on India’s involvement in the Lahore attack."

Also read: China asks Pakistan to conduct thorough probe into Dasu incident

The most familiar and undeniable face of India’s state-sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan was commander Kulbhushan Jadhav — caught red-handed in March 2016, it added.

“We reiterate our call on India to abjure the use of state-terrorism as an instrument of policy. Pakistan will continue to resolutely oppose Indian machinations imperilling regional peace and security,” the spokesperson said.

‘False allegation on Kulgam encounter’

The foreign office also rejected the irresponsible and misleading statement by the Indian officials, which levelled false allegations against Pakistan in connection with an encounter in the Kulgam area of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Read more: Pakistan rejects India's denial of involvement in Dasu terrorist attack

In a statement, Hafeez said it is ironic that without any corroboration, the Indian government has once again resorted to levelling serious allegations against Pakistan.

This is, he said, a typical Indian strategy to shift blames, employ unfounded assertions against Pakistan as a smokescreen, and seek to undermine the indigenous struggle for self-determination of the people of IIOJK.

The spokesperson called upon India to refrain from its reprehensible propaganda campaign as no number of Indian falsehoods can succeed in diverting attention from India's serious crimes in IIOJK.