Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said India’s “malicious” plan was designed to falsely implicate Pakistan for targeting Indian civilians and to incite anti-Pakistan sentiments among the Punjabi Sikh population to “conveniently externalise the rising communal tensions within India”.

“Unlike the policies of the Indian leadership, Pakistan remains firmly committed to safeguarding innocent lives and regional harmony,” he said.

“We deeply empathise with the civilian population of India, particularly the Sikh community of Indian Punjab, as their lives were endangered by India through the malicious use of projectiles, most probably missiles, to achieve sinister political ends.”