The Government of Pakistan has condemned in the strongest possible terms the highly provocative and irresponsible comments by the Indian Defence Minister in the context of Jammu and Kashmir dispute. In a statement issued in Islamabad on Monday morning, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said: “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.” 

The FO spokesperson said that such insinuations were an attempt to divert attention from India’s continued occupation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), its sponsorship of terrorism across the region, as well as its domestic instability. Andrabi 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 behaviour 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.On Sunday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had strongly rejected remarks made by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, saying such statements could neither alter the internationally-recognized disputed status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) nor distort established legal realities.

In a statement posted on social media platform X, Khawaja Asif said India's continued attempts to misrepresent internationally-recognised legal facts through intimidation and threatening rhetoric would not change the reality on the ground. "Pakistan categorically rejects the irresponsible statements made by the Indian defence minister," he said, adding the remarks reflected yet another attempt to distort internationally recognized legal facts through political rhetoric and coercive posturing. The Pakistani defence minister said such statements could neither change the status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir nor contribute to regional peace, stability or meaningful dialogue. 

Asif reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remained an internationally recognized disputed territory, the final disposition of which is yet to be determined in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the freely expressed will of the Kashmiri people. He said Pakistan remained committed to the internationally-recognized legal framework governing the Kashmir dispute and rejected any attempt to undermine it through unilateral statements or political rhetoric.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)