FO condemns Indian home minister's 'irresponsible and provocative statement'

The Foreign Office (FO) slammed on Thursday the "irresponsible and provocative statement" made by Indian home minister Amit Shah, in which he threatened Pakistan with surgical strikes.

"This delusional statement only goes to further demonstrate the BJP-RSS combined propensity to stoke regional tensions for both ideological reasons and political expediency, based on enmity towards Pakistan," Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said in a statement.

He said such statements also serve as smokescreens to divert world attention from India’s state-terrorism and systematic human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), and against Muslims and other minorities in India.

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"Pakistan has repeatedly drawn the attention of the international community to India’s sinister designs of staging “false flag” operations to implicate Pakistan and Kashmiris," Iftikhar said.

He made it clear that while Pakistan is a peace-loving country, and that Islamabad will "spare no effort in resolutely thwarting any aggressive designs".

"Pakistan’s swift response to India’s Balakot misadventure in 2019, including the downing of Indian combat aircraft and capture of Indian Air Force pilot, fully demonstrated the will, capacity, and preparedness of our armed forces to deter Indian aggression," he added.

Earlier today, the Hindustan Times reported Indian Home Minister Amit Shah as saying that India will carry out surgical strikes against Pakistan if it transgresses.

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Shah made the comments while referring to the alleged surgical strike India had carried out in 2016. Pakistan, however, rejected India’s claims of carrying out the strike.

"The surgical strike under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former defense minister Manohar Parrikar was an important step. We sent out a message that no one can disturb India's borders. There was a time for talks, but now is the time to reciprocate," the report quoted Shah as saying.

According to India Today, Shah, who was addressing the foundation laying ceremony of a university in Goa's Dharbandora, also said the "surgical strikes proved that we don't tolerate attacks. More will come if you transgress".