FO rejects India’s denial of state-sponsored terrorism

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office has categorically rejected the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ denial of the irrefutable evidence provided by Pakistan on Indian state sponsorship of terrorism.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said “fully exposed” India has “typically resorted to sophistry, obfuscation and re-fabrication.” It added that such “bland denials and regurgitation of old litany of charges will not change facts.”

The dossier extensively documents India’s active planning, promoting, aiding, abetting, financing and execution of terrorist activities against Pakistan.

The statement added that Pakistan continues to suffer immensely as a result of India’s sponsorship of terrorism from across our borders. Since 2001, Pakistan has faced more than 19,000 terrorist attacks on its soil and suffered 83,000 causalities and suffered direct economic losses of $126 billion.

It added India has mischievously masqueraded as a ‘victim’ of terrorism and sought to mislead the international community by hypocritically levelling terrorism-related allegations against Pakistan.

“It has also conducted false flag operations in IIOJK and inside India to malign Pakistan. That façade has now been removed and the world can see the real face of India – one blackened by its decades-long state-terrorism in IOJK and state-sponsored terrorism and destabilization efforts in Pakistan,” said the foreign office.

READ MORE: Indian agencies sabotaging CPEC, supporting terrorism in Pakistan

The most familiar and undeniable face of India’s state-sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan is Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav who was caught red-handed in March 2016. “His complicity in subversion, sabotage and terrorism in Pakistan is part of the incontrovertible evidence against India,” it added.

The Foreign Office said the world is also familiar with “saffron terror” orchestrated and unleashed by the RSS-BJP zealots against Muslims in India and against Pakistan.

It added that masterminds of Makkah Masjid, Ajmer Dargah, and Samjhota Express terrorist cases, like Swami Aseemanand, have been granted full state protection and acquitted in complete travesty of justice after having confessed to India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA).

This is followed by open threats to Pakistan by Indian civilian and military leaders, it added, highlighting India’s sinister design to subvert China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and public statements by noted Indian politicians and senior security officials on ‘teaching Pakistan’ a lesson through use of terrorism constitute further incriminating evidence.

READ MORE: Pakistan shared “irrefutable evidence” of Indian involvement in terrorism

The Foreign Office said the presence of ISIL and AQIS in India as highlighted in recent UN reports indicate that India is emerging as a hotbed of UN-designated international terrorist organisations and posing a great risk to the region.

It added that recent revelations by FINCEN files illustrate how India uses its financial system for money laundering and other illegal activities such as terrorism financing brazenly and with impunity.

It said the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy by India makes it culpable under international law, UN sanctions regime, and international counter-terrorism conventions.

It said that it is collective responsibility of the world community to hold India to account and take practical steps to proceed against the Indian nationals involved in patronage of terrorist entities.

The Foreign Office said it expects the UN counter-terrorism bodies to proceed on the basis of concrete evidence provided by Pakistan and urge India to renounce use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy. It called on the UN to play its part in dismantling the Indian terrorist infrastructure provided in the dossier.