ISLAMABAD: In a tit-for-tat rejoinder to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tirade at the recent G20 Summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, the Fore­ign Office said on Thursday that Pakistan had suffered immensely because of a “terrorism sponsor” in its neighbourhood.

“Pakistan is among the biggest victims of terrorism. We have suffered heavily because of one country in South Asia, which has a track record of continuous interference, and has been perpetrating terrorism and indulged in terror financing,” FO spokesman Nafees Zakaria said at the weekly media briefing.

Much like Mr Modi, the FO spokesman avoided naming India.

His reference was, however, obvious as he, while responding to a question, pointed to the confessional statement of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who had been captured by Pakistani law enforcement agencies in March.

“Jadhav’s public confession makes a clear reference to that country in South Asia,” Mr Zakaria noted. “We have strong evidence and confessions to validate our claim.”

Balochi-language radio service of India termed bid to divert attention from held Kashmir

PM Modi while speaking on terror financing during the last session of the G20 Summit had said: “There are some nations that use terrorism as an instrument of state policy. …Indeed one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in countries of our region.”

The Indian leader had then called for isolating and sanctioning that South Asian country. He had made a similar pitch at an informal meeting of BRICS leaders on the sidelines of G20 Summit.

Intensified bickering and frequent exchange of barbs between India and Pakistan has coincided with aggravation in bilateral ties in the aftermath of eruption of protests in held Kashmir over the killing of a young militant commander, Burhan Wani, at the hands of Indian forces there.

From the Indian side, Mr Modi has been leading the charge against Pakistan, whereas the response from Islamabad has been largely at the official level. Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif is the highest official from Pakistan, who has got involved in this war of words that looks to be getting nastier.

Addressing RAW and PM Modi, Gen Sharif had in Gilgit last week said: “We know our enemy and its conspiracies and we will leave no stone unturned to defeat those plots.” He too, however, avoided mentioning India during his Defence Day speech and only alluded to Indian “machinations and instigations”.

US-India accord

Expressing concern over the US-India logistics accord, Mr Zakaria cautioned against its impact on the region’s strategic balance.

“Any such agreement must not disturb the balance of power in South Asia. Pakistan is carefully monitoring the evolving regional and global situation and would make course correction in its foreign policy as and when required,” he said.

This was the first official reaction since US and India last week signed their ‘Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA)’. The accord, which provides US and India access to each other’s military facilities, furthers military cooperation between the two countries amid their growing strategic relationship.

LEMOA not only provides for use of each other’s facilities during authorised port visits, joint exercises, joint training and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts, but also has provision for logistics support for any other ‘cooperative effort’.

Pakistani strategists firmly believe that LEMOA would affect Pakistan’s security interests. The accord bolsters India’s logistics capacity for missions in the Indian Ocean.

Meanwhile, it also increases the reach of the US forces in the region. The agreement has come as part of the United States’ ‘Pivot to Asia’ strategy through which America is seeking to push back against increasing Chinese assertiveness and influence. Islamabad is Beijing’s staunchest ally in the neighbourhood.

LEMOA, which is an India-specific version of Logistics Support Agreement, also carries a lot of symbolism. It is one of the three accords that US signs with countries with whom it has strong military ties.

High Commissioner’s summoning

Speaking about summoning of Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit by the Indian External Affairs Ministry over the cancellation of an event by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry in which Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale was also to take part, Mr Zakaria said the trade body was independent in its actions.

“Yes, he was called in by the Indian Foreign Office and given a demarche. We are gathering more information related to this episode. However, let me point out that the Karachi Chambers of Commerce and Industries is an independent body,” Mr Zakaria said in response to a question.

Indians believe that the cancellation was prompted by Mr Bambawale’s comments at an event at the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations during which he had criticised Pakistani reaction to suppression of protests in India-held Kashmir in which some 90 people have been killed. Alluding to Pakistan, Mr Bambawale had said that people living in glass houses should not be throwing stones at others.

The high commissioner had virtually echoed PM Modi, who had last month accused Pakistan of suppressing rights of people of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan.

Responding to another question about India launching a Balochi language channel, the FO spokesman said: “We all need to realise why India is doing this. India wants to divert attention of the world community from the grave human rights violations in IoK [Indian Occupied Kashmir]. No matter how much they try to keep the media and the world community in the dark, people are able to differentiate between farce and reality quite clearly.”

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2016