Pakistan rejects India’s ‘fictitious claims’ regarding IIOJK

Strongly rejecting the “baseless accusations and unfounded assertions” by India’s Defence Minister and Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan said on Wednesday that New Delhi has no legal or moral grounds to assert “fictitious claims over the territories of Indian Illegally-Occupied Kashmir (IIOJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan”.

“IIOJK remains an internationally recognised disputed territory, whose final status is to be determined under relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” the Foreign Office said.

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“Such rhetoric from Indian leadership cannot divert international attention from the grave human rights violations and oppressive measures being carried out in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”

The FO said the actions by India suppress the legitimate and just struggle of the Kashmiri people for their inalienable right to self-determination.

The development came after Indian Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi accused Pakistan for being an “epicentre of terrorism”, saying “80% of terrorists active in IIOJK are Pakistanis”.

As per ANI, Dwivedi blamed Pakistan for the violence levels in the Union Territory saying it was being orchestrated by the “epicentre of terrorism that is Pakistan”.

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Moreover, India’s Defence Minister also accused Pakistan of making persistent attempts to “destabilise India by sponsoring terrorism” and said it must dismantle its terror infrastructure in Azad Kashmir or face consequences, as per another Indian news website Business Standard.

In its statement, FO underscored that provocative statements of this nature were “counterproductive to regional peace and stability”.

“Instead of levelling baseless allegations against others, India must introspect and address its own documented involvement in orchestrating targeted assassinations, acts of subversion, and state-sponsored terrorism in foreign territories.” the FO said.

‘Indian Army Chief’s statement not only contrary to facts, but also exercise in futility’

In a separate statement, Pakistan Army also strongly reacted to the Indian allegations.

“Insinuating Pakistan as the epi-center of terrorism by the Indian Army Chief, is not only contrary to facts, but also an exercise in futility to beat the dead horse of India’s default position - blaming Pakistan for indigenous reaction to state-sponsored brutality. It is a classic case of extreme duplicity,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

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The ISPR added that Indian remarks were an attempt to deflect world’s attention from India’s brutality in the IIOJK, repression of minorities internally, and India’s trans-national repression.

“The [Indian] General Officer, in his earlier stint in llOJK personally oversaw the most brutal repression of Kashmiris. Such politically motivated and fallacious statements reflect the extreme politicisation of Indian Army.

“The world is witness to the India’s hate-speech conclaves that provoke genocide against Muslims. International community is not oblivious to India’s trans-national assassinations, and Indian Security Forces’ oppressive use of force against innocent civilians and gross human rights violations against unarmed Kashmiris,” Pakistan military’s media wing said.

Pakistan Army hoped that “civility, professionalism, and norms of state-to-state behaviour” would guide the conduct of Indian Army’s leadership, rather than “pandering to political exigencies”.