The military on Wednesday strongly reacted to the Indian army chief calling Pakistan the \u201cepicentre of terrorism\u201d, saying that instead of trying to \u201cconjure up non-existent terror infrastructure in Pakistan, it would be wise not to indulge in self-delusion\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement<\/a> from the the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) came in response to Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi\u2019s remarks<\/a> during a press conference on Monday, ahead of India\u2019s Army Day, when he claimed that in 2024, \u201c60 per cent of the terrorists eliminated\u201d in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) were allegedly of Pakistani origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n General Dwivedi further alleged that \u201c80pc of the remaining fighters in IoK were of Pakistani origin\u201d, according to the Press Trust of India<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a strongly-worded response today, the Pakistani military said: \u201cInsinuating 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\u2019s default position \u2014 blaming Pakistan for indigenous reaction to state-sponsored brutality. It is a classic case of extreme duplicity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The statement added that the remarks were being made in an \u201cattempt to deflect the world\u2019s attention from India\u2019s brutality in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), repression of minorities internally and India\u2019s trans-national repression\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It continued: \u201cThe general officer, in his earlier stint in llOJK personally oversaw the most brutal repression of Kashmiris. Such politically motivated and fallacious statements reflect the extreme politicisation of the Indian Army.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n General Upendra Dwivedi officially took over as the Indian Army chief on June 30, 2024. His command appointments include leading the 18 held-Jammu and Kashmir Rifles regiment, the 26 Sector Assam Rifles brigade, and serving as inspector general of Assam Rifles and the Indian Army\u2019s 9 Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has also served as Northern Army Commander for the Indian army where he oversaw the Indian Army Corps in Occupied Kashmir and the Chinese border and played an important role in India\u2019s ongoing negotiations<\/a> with China to resolve border issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The statement further mentioned that the world was witness to India\u2019s \u201chate-speech conclave<\/a> that provoke genocide against Muslims\u201d, adding that the international community was \u201cnot oblivious to India\u2019s trans-national assassinations and Indian Security Forces\u2019 oppressive use of force against innocent civilians and gross human rights violations against unarmed Kashmiris\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSuch oppression has only served to strengthen the resolve of Kashmiris for their right of self-determination, enshrined in the UN Security Council Resolutions,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ISPR said that \u201cinstead of trying to conjure up a non-existent terror infrastructure in Pakistan, it would be wise not to indulge in self-delusion, and appreciate the ground reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Referring to Indian spy agent Kulbhushan Jadhav\u2019s 2016 arrest<\/a>, who confessed to fomenting terrorism in Balochistan and Karachi, the military said: \u201cThe sobering fact that a senior serving Indian military officer is in Pakistan\u2019s custody, caught red-handed while orchestrating acts of terror against innocent civilians inside Pakistan, seems to have been conveniently ignored by the general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPakistan takes strong exception to such baseless and unfounded statements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The statement concluded by saying that Pakistan \u201cempathised with the victims of the Indian Army\u2019s brutality\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is hoped that civility, professionalism and norms of state-to-state behaviour would guide the conduct of Indian Army\u2019s leadership, rather than pandering to political exigencies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Separately, the Foreign Office (FO) also issued a statement today saying that Pakistan \u201cstrongly rejected\u201d the remarks issued by India\u2019s defence minister and chief of army staff on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday that India must \u201cdismantle Pakistan\u2019s terror infrastructure\u201d in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), The Hindustan Times<\/em><\/a> reported. Addressing an Army Day event in Akhnoor, Singh had said IoK was \u201cincomplete\u201d without AJK, calling it \u201cthe crown jewel of India\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The minister made these remarks in response to AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, who said last week that his government would \u201credirect all available resources towards ousting Indian forces from occupied Kashmir\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The FO stressed that IoK remained an \u201cinternationally recognised disputed territory, whose final status is to be determined in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn this context, India has no legal or moral grounds to assert fictitious claims over the territories of AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan,\u201d the FO asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It further said, \u201cSuch rhetoric from the Indian leadership cannot divert international attention from the grave human rights violations and oppressive measures being carried out in IIOJK,\u201d noting that India\u2019s actions \u201csuppress the legitimate and just struggle of the Kashmiri people for their inalienable right to self-determination\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPakistan also underscores that provocative statements of this nature are counterproductive to regional peace and stability,\u201d the FO statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It highlighted the issue of extra-territorial killings<\/a> \u2014 including in Pakistan \u2014 which, according to multiple reports<\/a> by international media outlets, were carried out by the Indian government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInstead 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,\u201d the FO said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A recent report<\/a> in the Washington Post<\/em> has laid bare the ins and outs of an Indian intelligence campaign, which has been orchestrating killings \u2014 on Pakistani soil \u2014 of individuals it deems a threat to its national interests<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to WaPo<\/em>, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has been running an assassination campaign in Pakistan since 2021, an operation that shares similarities with covert actions recently attributed to Indian agencies in North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on interviews with Pakistani and Indian officials, militant associates, family members, and a review of police documents, the report documents six killings in Pakistan that are allegedly part of this coordinated effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report notes that India extended this campaign beyond Pakistan, employing similar<\/a> tactics in North America against Sikh activists, including Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and Gurpatwant Pannun<\/a> in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report draws comparisons between the tactics used in Pakistan and similar Indian operations against Sikh activists in Canada and the US. In both cases, Indian operatives allegedly relied on local criminal networks and poorly trained contractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, these operations faced significant setbacks in North America, including the plot to assassinate Sikh activist Gurpatwant Pannun in New York. The assassination attempt failed when an intermediary unknowingly approached a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) informant posing as a hitman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canadian officials have also accused Indian diplomats of surveilling, intimidating and plotting to assassinate Sikh activists. Electronic communications reportedly linked these diplomats to such activities, further straining relations between India and Western nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n India\u2019s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment on the report, maintaining its longstanding position of neither confirming nor denying involvement in specific killings, but Indian officials have previously justified their actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>Baseless accusations, unfounded assertions: FO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Covert Indian assassinations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n