Delhi, not Islamabad: Pakistan brushes off Indian accusations
Suggests Delhi to look at Samjohta Express attack perpetrators
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Monday dismissed Indian accusations that it was ‘mainstreaming terrorism’ and taunted its nuclear-armed neighbour that the world only needed to look at the perpetrators of Samjohta Express terrorist attack and its masterminds to determine the truth.
The strong reaction from the Foreign Office came after the Indian external affairs ministry accused Pakistan for facilitating the rally addressed by Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Lahore last week.
“This was an event at a national monument in Pakistan, with police deployed for security and advertised all across Pakistan. Extending these facilities to a designated terror entity including providing train services, is nothing short of mainstreaming terrorism,” reads the Indian external affairs ministry statement.
However, Pakistan reacted sharply to the remarks and termed allegations as baseless.
“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,” said the foreign office spokesperson.
The spokesperson also pointed out that 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.
“We also reject the equally baseless allegations and efforts to malign Pakistan by implicating it in the recent attacks in Indian Occupied Kashmir. The recent verdict of court martial on fake encounter of 2010 exposes the hollowness of the Indian infiltration claims,” the spokesperson maintained.
The FO also termed the state elections in Indian Kashmir as a sham and an exercise in futility.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2014.
Pakistan on Monday dismissed Indian accusations that it was ‘mainstreaming terrorism’ and taunted its nuclear-armed neighbour that the world only needed to look at the perpetrators of Samjohta Express terrorist attack and its masterminds to determine the truth.
The strong reaction from the Foreign Office came after the Indian external affairs ministry accused Pakistan for facilitating the rally addressed by Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Lahore last week.
“This was an event at a national monument in Pakistan, with police deployed for security and advertised all across Pakistan. Extending these facilities to a designated terror entity including providing train services, is nothing short of mainstreaming terrorism,” reads the Indian external affairs ministry statement.
However, Pakistan reacted sharply to the remarks and termed allegations as baseless.
“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,” said the foreign office spokesperson.
The spokesperson also pointed out that 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.
“We also reject the equally baseless allegations and efforts to malign Pakistan by implicating it in the recent attacks in Indian Occupied Kashmir. The recent verdict of court martial on fake encounter of 2010 exposes the hollowness of the Indian infiltration claims,” the spokesperson maintained.
The FO also termed the state elections in Indian Kashmir as a sham and an exercise in futility.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2014.