ISLAMABAD, May 16: The foreign office on Thursday said that wild allegations of Pakistan’s involvement in the Jammu incident and threats of retaliation by the Indian government were part of Delhi’s plan to divert international attention from the genocide of the Muslim minority in Gujarat.

In a statement, a foreign office spokesman rejected the allegations levelled by Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes that Pakistan was behind the May 14 attack near Jammu.

He said the Indian defence minister’s claim was “irresponsible and reflective of the Indian mindset of constantly levelling baseless accusations against Pakistan”.

The spokesman took particular exception to the Indian minister’s insinuation against the president of Pakistan. The spokesman stated that he could also accuse Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his cabinet colleagues of training fascist Hindu terrorists to kill and rape members of the minority communities in their country but would desist from doing so in the interest of maintaining dignity in the discourse between the two countries.

He said that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and added that as a frontline member of the international coalition against terrorism it was bearing the brunt of the battle against terrorism.

He recalled that immediately after learning about the Jammu attack, the government of Pakistan had condemned the civilian deaths and called for an impartial inquiry to unmask the motives of its perpetrators.

The spokesman pointed out that hurling such baseless allegations on Pakistan, even before any proper investigation or inquiry into the incident, strengthened the suspicion that these allegations and the threat of retaliation were part of an attempt to divert attention from the ongoing genocide of the Muslim minority community in Gujarat as well as the domestic difficulties being faced by the Indian government.