Pakistan rubbishes Indian army chief’s 'LoC launch pads' remarks

Pakistan has rejected the remarks of the Indian army chief regarding the presence of "launch pads and training camps" across the Line of Control (LoC).

According to Indian publication Morning Express, the Indian army chief claimed the presence of "350 to 400 terrorists gathering at the border launch pads and training camps near LoC," saying a "proxy war was ongoing from the Pakistan side".

"Pakistan categorically rejects the Indian army chief’s fallacious comments made at a press conference, insinuating the presence of so-called “launch pads” and “training” camps across the LoC," the Foreign Office said in a statement on Thursday.

It further said that there is nothing new about the Indian general’s unfounded allegations, as these are a part of the malicious anti-Pakistan propaganda being pedalled by the BJP-RSS at the helm in India.

Also read: Threat from China remains, says Indian army chief

The FO went on to say that the Indian government is driven by its belligerent and expansionist agenda embedded in the delusional notion of “Akhand Bharat”, which poses a grave threat to regional peace.

"The Indian army chief has made a desperate attempt at diverting global attention from India’s state-terrorism and egregious human rights violations, which continue unabated in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)," it added.

The communique further said, "Pakistan calls on India to forthwith halt its tyranny in the IIOJK, renounce its campaign of Kashmiris' persecution, and let them exercise their right to self-determination as promised to them under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Concluding, the FO said: "Pakistan is committed to pursue meaningful dialogue with India for peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir. The onus is, however, on India to create an enabling environment conducive for dialogue."

Also read: India says China 'inventing' names in disputed region

Earlier today, the Indian military chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane said that the threat China posed to India had by no means diminished despite partial disengagement along the de facto border.

"War or conflict is always an instrument of last resort. But if resorted to, we will come out victorious," Naravane was quoted as saying at a virtual press conference ahead of India's Army Day.

The two countries were engaged in a face-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — the de facto border between China and India in the disputed territory of Ladakh in the disputed Himalayan region. Tensions soared in June 2020 after at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in a border clash in the region.