ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday rejected the “irresponsible assertions” made by Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, saying that New Delhi was again seeking to “deflect attention from its own troubling record as a neighbor that promotes terrorism and contributes to regional instability.”
Although Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ press release did not make a specific mention of the remarks by the Indian minister, its censure came after Indian media reported Jaishankar as saying on Friday that New Delhi had a right to defend itself against terrorism while talking about “bad neighbors.”
“You can also have bad neighbors … unfortunately, we do. When you have bad neighbors … if you look to the one to the West — if a country decides that they will deliberately, persistently, unrepentantly continue with terrorism, we have a right to defend our people against terrorism,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying by Indian media.
Speaking in reference to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the Indian external affairs minister said: “Many years ago we agreed to a water-sharing arrangement — the belief was it was gesture of goodwill — because of good neighborliness we were doing it … but if you have decades of terrorism there is no good neighborliness and you don’t get the benefit of good neighborliness.”
In response to media queries regarding remarks made by the Indian Minister of External Affairs about Pakistan, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tahir Andrabi, stated: “Pakistan firmly rejects the irresponsible assertions made by the Indian External Affairs Minister. Once again, India seeks to deflect attention from its own troubling record as a neighbor that promotes terrorism and contributes to regional instability.”
Andrabi said, “India’s documented involvement in promoting terrorist activities in the region, particularly in Pakistan, is well known.”
“The case of Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav remains a stark example of organized, state-sponsored terrorism directed against Pakistan.”
Andrabi said, “equally concerning are recurring instances of extraterritorial killings, sabotage through proxies, and covert support to terrorist networks.”
“This pattern is consistent with the extremist ideology of Hindutva and its violent proponents,” the spokesperson said.
Andrabi further underlined that “India continues its illegal and violent military occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to extend full political, moral, and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their just struggle to realize their right to self-determination, as enshrined in relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”
The IWT is “an international agreement concluded in good faith and at considerable cost.”
“Any unilateral violation of the Treaty by India would undermine regional stability and call into question its credibility as a state that claims to respect international legal obligations. Pakistan will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights under the Treaty,” Andrabi said.
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