ISLAMABAD: Both the Foreign Office and military, on Wednesday, rebuked statements by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi as “politically motivated” and “fallacious”, warning that such rhetoric poses a serious threat to regional peace and stability.

The FO’s sharp response underscored the irony of India’s accusations, given its own well-documented history of state-sponsored terrorism and subversive activities on foreign soils.

“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 statement noted.

In remarks delivered during the 9th Armed Forces Veterans’ Day celebrations at Akhnoor in India-held Jammu, Mr Singh asserted, “Land of PoK (a reference to Azad Jammu and Kashmir) is being used to run dangerous and treacherous business of terrorism. … Pakistan must put an end to it (its dangerous game-plan) and stop its despicable acts, otherwise… dot, dot, dot.”

He further said, “Jammu and Kashmir is not complete without [Azad Jammu and Kashmir].”

Islamabad reacts sharply to defence minister, army chief’s provocations, tells New Delhi to check its own role in terrorism abroad

While condemning Mr Singh’s remarks, the FO reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remains “an internationally recognised disputed territory” whose final status must be resolved according to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

It stated, “India has no legal or moral grounds to assert fictitious claims over the territories of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.”

At his annual Army Day press conference, the Indian army chief labelled Pakistan as the “epicentre of terrorism,” claiming that 80 per cent of terrorists active in held Jammu and Kashmir are Pakistanis.

“If the support is not forthcoming the way India is looking at it, this kind of terrorist infiltration will continue to be there,” Gen Dwivedi said.

He added that the high voter turnout in occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s elections indicated that locals were “shunning violence” and accused Pakistan of orchestrating unrest in the region.

Pakistan’s military, through the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), dismissed Gen Dwivedi’s claims as a “classic case of extreme duplicity” and an effort to deflect global attention from human rights violations in India-held Kashmir.

“Insinuating Pakistan as the epicentre 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,” the statement read.

The ISPR emphasised that such statements reflected the “extreme politicisation” of India’s military leadership and warned against undermining professionalism and state-to-state conduct. It also highlighted India’s transnational repression, including targeted assassinations and state-sponsored terrorism.

The military’s media wing recalled that a serving Indian military officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav, is in Pakistani custody for his role in terrorism in Pakistan.

“The sobering fact that a senior serving Indian military officer is in Pakistan’s custody, caught red-handed while orchestrating acts of terror against innocent civilians inside Pakistan, seems to have been conveniently ignored by the General,” it said.

Both the FO and military urged the international community to recognise Delhi’s oppressive measures in India-held Kashmir, describing these as violations of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination under the UNSC resolutions.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2025