Pakistan condemns comments of Indian defence minister on Kashmir dispute

The government of Pakistan on Monday condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the highly provocative and irresponsible comments by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the context of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

“His statement not only distorts facts regarding the UN and internationally recognised 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,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in a statement.

The development comes after Singh, addressing an event on Sunday, said that Azad Kashmir is an integral part of India.

Andrabi 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.

He 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 behavior 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.