Pakistan alerts world on possible Indian ‘false flag’ op

Foreign Office spokesperson dismisses Indian army chief’s ‘fallacious comments’

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Thursday warned that there was a real possibility of India staging another “false flag operation” to complicate the current situation, in a statement issued just a day before the government is set to unveil a new National Security policy that seeks peace with immediate neighbours.

“There is a real possibility that India might stage another False Flag Operation to complicate the current situation. So we continue to alert our friends in the international community about this prospect,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar told a weekly news briefing here.

His statement came after the Indian army chief, in his annual press conference, claimed the presence of so-called “launch pads” and “training camps” across the Line of Control (LoC). Asim Iftikhar categorically rejected the Indian army chief’s “fallacious comments” made at a press conference.

“There is nothing new about the Indian General’s unfounded allegations, as these are a part of the malicious anti-Pakistan propaganda being peddled by the BJP-RSS [Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] combine at the helm in India,” he told reporters.

“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,” Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar added.

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

He said the Indian army chief made a desperate attempt at diverting global attention from India’s state-terrorism and egregious human rights violations, which continued unabated in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

“Pakistan calls on India to forthwith halt its tyranny in the IIOJK, renounced its campaign of persecution of Kashmiris, and let them exercise their right to self-determination as promised to them under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”

The spokesperson also urged the international community to take immediate notice of the Indian state-terrorism in IIOJK and hold India accountable for the egregious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in IIOJK.

India must allow unhindered access to international human rights and humanitarian organisations and UN special mandate holders to conduct independent investigations in the IIOJK, the spokesperson demanded.

He said that Pakistan was 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,” he stressed.

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Meanwhile, the spokesperson confirmed that Prime Minister Imran Khan would visit China in the first week of February to attend the opening ceremony of 2022 Winter Olympics at the invitation of the Chinese leadership.

The prime minister is expected to meet the Chinese president as well as Russian president on the sidelines of the opening ceremony, which is being boycotted by the US and certain other Western countries accusing Beijing for human rights violations.

N-disarmament

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement that the joint statement by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (P-5) on preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms races was a positive development.

“This understanding among the permanent members of the UN Security Council can pave the way for concrete measures for strategic stability at the global and regional levels,” he said, adding that statement rightly acknowledged the imperative of creating a conducive security environment for meaningful progress on nuclear disarmament.

In the context of South Asia, the spokesperson said, Pakistan’s proposal for a Strategic Restraint Regime, encompassing nuclear and missile restraint, conventional balance and settlement of disputes, could contribute significantly towards maintaining strategic stability and avoiding military conflict.

(With additional input from APP)