ISLAMABAD: A day after the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh admitted to New Delhi's policy of orchestrating killings in Pakistan in a televised interview, the Foreign Office Saturday denounced his provocative remarks, terming them “hyper-nationalistic sentiments” aimed for “electoral gains”.
Rajnath Singh has said that India will enter Pakistan to kill anyone who escapes over the border after trying to carry out terrorist activities in the country.
The minister’s comments came a day after the British publication, The Guardian, revealed in a report that the Indian government had killed about 20 people in Pakistan since 2020 as part of a broader plan to eliminate terrorists residing on foreign soil.
The report in the UK paper came months after Canada and the United States accused India of killing or attempting to kill people in their countries.
"India always wants to maintain good relations with its neighbouring countries ... But if anyone shows India the angry eyes again and again, comes to India and tries to promote terrorist activities, we will not spare them," Singh said.
Reacting to his remark, the FO said: "India's ruling dispensation habitually resorts to hateful rhetoric to fuel hyper-nationalistic sentiments, unapologetically exploiting such discourse for electoral gains."
It added that such myopic and irresponsible behaviour not only undermines regional peace but also impedes the prospects of constructive engagement in the long term.
"Pakistan has always demonstrated its commitment to peace in the region. However, our desire for peace should not be misconstrued. History attests to Pakistan's firm resolve and ability to protect and defend itself," the FO statement read.
According to FO, Pakistan, on 25 January 2024, provided irrefutable evidence, elucidating India's campaign of extrajudicial and transnational assassinations on Pakistani soil.
"India's assertion of its preparedness to extra-judicially execute more civilians, arbitrarily pronounced as ‘terrorists’, inside Pakistan constitutes a clear admission of culpability. It is imperative for the international community to hold India accountable for its heinous and illegal actions," the statement added.
The FO reiterated Pakistan's resolution in its "intent and ability to safeguard its sovereignty against any act of aggression, as demonstrated by its robust response to India's reckless incursion in February 2019, which laid bare India's hollow claims of military superiority."
In response to Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday advised India to be “careful” in its rhetoric.
Talking to Geo News, Asif said Singh was making a pompous statement because of the election campaign, but India should not commit such an action to gain popularity in the election over which it had to bear the consequences.
Asif advised India to be careful in its rhetoric and reminded about what had happened a few years ago when India carried out a strike inside Pakistan.
“We struck down an Indian jet and caught and returned their pilot in charity. If they again attempt such a misadventure, they will be responded in the same manner as earlier,” he said.
The defence minister said India did not have the courage to directly attack Pakistan. India patronaged terrorists in Pakistan with the help of the neighbouring countries, he said.
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