FO censures Indian defence minister for threatening Pakistan

• Pakistan condemns Indian defence minister's provocative comments.
• Pakistan fully capable of thwarting India’s aggressive designs, FO says.
• FO warns BJP leaders against any ill-conceived misadventure.

The Foreign Office on Monday censured Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for levelling unfounded allegations in the context of terrorism and hurling threats against Pakistan.

"Pakistan strongly condemns the unwarranted, gratuitous, and provocative comments. It is the BJP’s special forte to misrepresent history, resort to revisionism and delusional thinking, and indulge in false bravado," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said in a statement.

Such discourse is particularly evident whenever elections in key states in India are approaching, while the timing of the defence minister’s provocative rhetoric is, therefore, not surprising, the spokesperson said.

"As the BJP-RSS combine is desperate to win elections in Uttar Pradesh and other states, typically inciting hyper-nationalism and seeking to advance the extremist ‘Hindutva’ agenda," he said.

The defence minister’s chest-thumping and war-mongering is nothing but further evidence of India’s irresponsible behaviour and its relentless belligerence towards Pakistan, the spokesperson said.

Advice to BJP leaders

On the issue of terrorism, the spokesperson said the international community is well aware of how the Hindutva-inspired regime in India is carrying out state-terrorism against the Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK).

"In November last year, Pakistan also presented a comprehensive dossier with irrefutable evidence of the Indian government's planning, aiding, abetting, financing, and executing terrorist activities in Pakistan," Iftikhar said.

The world is aware that Pakistan is fully capable of thwarting India’s aggressive designs, he said, adding that we have demonstrated our resolve and capability in this regard, including in the recent past.

"The BJP leaders will be well-advised to desist from any ill-conceived misadventure and also stop dragging Pakistan in India’s domestic politics for electoral gains," he added.

The Indian defence minister, while speaking at an event on December 12, had said: "[Pakistan] wants to break India by promoting terrorism and other anti-India activities. Indian forces foiled their plans in 1971 and now work is going on to eliminate the roots of terrorism by our brave forces. We have won in the direct war, and will achieve victory in the proxy was as well.”