Pakistan terms accusations of involvement in Indian Kashmir attacks 'baseless'

FO spokesperson says violence in Indian-occupied Kashmir is the result of decades of repressive Indian policies

ISLAMABAD: Refuting Indian accusations that Pakistan is involved in the recent attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir, Islamabad on Monday rejected the allegations as ‘baseless.’

“The recent verdict of court martial on fake encounter of 2010 exposes the hollowness of the Indian infiltration claims. The violence in Indian-occupied Kashmir is the result of decades of repressive Indian policies and imposition of sham elections in IOK, an exercise in futility,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.

Earlier, the United States on Saturday cautioned against making any assumptions linking Pakistan to the latest bout of violence in Indian Kashmir.

“India has to understand that the people of Jammu and Kashmir would accept nothing short of their right to self-determination, promised to them by the United Nations Security Council and accepted by India and the international community,” a Foreign Office statement read.

“Pakistan takes its obligations under the UN Security Council mandate very seriously, unlike India as manifested by its failure to implement the UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir,” the spokesperson added.

Following Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed’s three day-long rally at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin had said, “Extending these sort of facilities to a designated terror entity including providing train services, is nothing short of mainstreaming terrorism.”

In response to Akbaruddin’s remarks, Aslam said, “Pakistan firmly rejects the baseless allegations about “mainstreaming of terrorism.”

Reiterating Pakistan’s resolve to fight against terrorism, Aslam said, “Pakistan has been in the forefront of combating terrorism and is also its biggest victim.”

“On the contrary, if any evidence of mainstreaming of terrorism in India was needed, one only had to look at the perpetrators of Samjohta Express terrorist attack and its masterminds,” she added.