FO slams Rajnath's remarks on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Monday condemned in the strongest possible terms the highly provocative and irresponsible comments by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the context of Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

"His statement not only distorts facts regarding the UN and internationally recognized Jammu and Kashmir dispute that remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council but also shows Indian government's deliberate policy to threaten regional and international peace and security," Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in a statement.

On Sunday, Singh had stated that there would be "no talks with Pakistan". According to the Times of India, he went on to say that if any took place, they would only be on Azad Jammu and Kashmir, claiming that it was "illegally occupied by Pakistan". He also said that any "misadventure" would invite a response "beyond their imagination", the publication said.

The Foreign Office said such insinuations were an attempt to divert attention from India's continued occupation of the Indian Illegally-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), its sponsorship of terrorism across the region, as well as its domestic instability.

The spokesperson said that while resorting to its misplaced rhetoric of aggression and belligerence, India must not underestimate the people and Government of Pakistan's unwavering resolve and determination to thwart any Indian adventurism as demonstrated by the entire Pakistani nation and its valiant armed forces during Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos last year.

"Pakistan urges the international community, in particular the United Nations, to take note of India's continued rouge behavior and to hold it accountable for its failure to uphold the relevant UN Security Council resolutions that guarantee the right to self-determination to the Kashmiris," the spokesperson added.

 

Khawaja Asif

Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif strongly dismissed recent irresponsible remarks by the Indian defence minister on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, calling them irresponsible and misleading.

Asif said the comments were another attempt to distort internationally recognised legal realities through political rhetoric and coercive posturing, he wrote on his social media platform X.

He said that such statements do not change the status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, nor do they help promote regional peace, stability, or meaningful dialogue.

He said Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognised disputed territory, the final disposition of which is to be determined in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the freely expressed will of the Kashmiri people.

Asif said India's repeated attempts to malign Pakistan lack credibility in light of its own well-documented record of state-sponsored terrorism and criminal activities.

In fact, India remains the biggest sponsor of terrorism and perpetrator of instability in South Asia, holding the region hostage to its aggressively revisionist designs.

The Minister said equally alarming is India's irresponsible rhetoric which risks lowering the threshold for interstate conflict in the region.

He said Pakistan remains committed to peace and dialogue, but its resolve to safeguard its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security is absolute and must never be tested.

Asif said the Indian Defence Minister's rhetoric is an attempt to deflect attention from internal turmoil and increasing unrest and discontent against Modi's autocratic and divisive style of governance.