ISLAMABAD: Denying Indian allegations of involvement in the Uri attack, the Foreign Office on Thursday said Delhi habitually levelled baseless and irresponsible charges against Pakistan.

“It is highly irresponsible on the part of India to accuse Pakistan without any proof, which has been happening now for quite some time,” FO spokesman Nafees Zakaria said at the weekly media briefing, adding that it could either be India’s “strategy” or “habit” to blame Pakistan for every incident.

India’s Director General Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh had soon after the attack on Sunday claimed that the equipment carried by the attackers bore Pakistani markings and he had conveyed that to his Pakistani counterpart Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza.

Investigations by Indian media later proved that the Indian DGMO had misstated the facts and none of the weapons used by the terrorists carried Pakistani markings. This then prompted the Indian defence ministry to introduce censorship for army-related media reports. All media organisations have been directed to get their stories ‘pre-verified’.

Mr Zakaria dismissed the Indian allegations as “unfounded, baseless and uninvestigated” and reminded New Delhi that Pakistan did not stand to gain from such incidents.

He recalled that in the past India had blamed Pakistan for 2007 Samjhauta Express terrorist attack, March 2000 Chattisinghpura incident, 2010 Maachil episode of extrajudicial killing of three young indigenous Kashmiris, Makkah Masjid blast, Malegaon attack and a number of others. But subsequently those allegations were proven wrong.

The FO spokesman said that for understanding the issue it was important to keep the context in mind. “Look at the current situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir, where gross violations of human rights have been carried out by Indian occupation forces on innocent Kashmiris with impunity. This has attracted attention of the entire world community,” he added.

Over 100 people have been killed and thousands injured in the crackdown on protests in held Kashmir by Indian security forces.

The spokesman said Pakistan denounced the continued killing of Kashmiris, including children, and called upon the UN Secretary General, UN Human Rights High Commissioner and the international community … to condemn the killing of innocent Kashmiris and take steps to stop Indian bloodshed in the held Valley.

In his speech at the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif highlighted the atrocities being committed by Indian security forces in held Kashmir.

In reply to a question about asylum for Baloch separatist Brahamdagh Bugti in India, Mr Zakaria said it vindicated Pakistani position. “Such developments add to the fact that India is deeply involved in stirring up situation in Balochistan through terror financing and perpetrating terrorism in Pakistan,” he maintained.

The spokesman for the first time shared Pakistani stance on reports about the Pakistan link of Ahmad Khan Rahami, the principal accused in a series of bombings in US. “The man who has been arrested is an Afghan-origin US national. He has been living in the US since 1995. You are aware that hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees reside in Quetta, and everyday scores of them cross into their motherland. Even those Afghans who reside in other countries transit through Pakistan to reach Afghanistan. So, there is nothing unusual about it,” he said.

It has been alleged that Rahami visited Quetta multiple times between 2011 and 2014 for meetings with Al Qaeda and Taliban commanders.

“It had been reported that his wife is a Pakistani. This information is incorrect. According to the preliminary information gathered, she is also an Afghan national,” the spokesman said.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2016