Actions in IIOJK: Pakistan urges world to hold India accountable

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday, reached out to the international community and urged them to hold India accountable for its actions in IIOJK, its patronage of terrorist entities and for fomenting terror in neighbouring countries.

“India is also advised to immediately reform and rectify its own credentials on terrorism and desist from shamelessly leveling false accusations against Pakistan for selfish political interests”, said the Foreign Office in reaction to some wild and uncalled for remarks in the so-called “No Money for Terror” conference in New Delhi to which 72 countries apart from Pakistan and Afghanistan were invited.

While some of the participants like Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah did not name Pakistan directly, Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar took on Pakistan directly. “There is cross border support behind these terrorists’ attacks. Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad or Harkatul Mujahideen and their proxies thrive on assured financial support to commit barbaric acts of terror on Indian soil”, he accused.

“India guided by its incorrigible and incurable desire to malign Pakistan at every available forum, continues to mislead the world about Pakistan’s counter-terrorism credentials by repeatedly leveling false accusations of Pakistan’s alleged involvement in financing of proscribed terrorist organisations.

India’s hollow rhetoric has fallen flat in the face of Pakistan’s successful counterterrorism measures, which have been accorded due recognition and acknowledgement from the premier international body on counterterrorism, anti-money laundering and terror financing, i.e. the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)”, said the Foreign Office.

It added that this was robust and credible AML/CFT actions, and satisfactory implementation of FATF Action Plans duly secured Pakistan’s successful removal off the grey list, this October. It is to be remembered that FATF gave a unanimous decision to white list Pakistan despite India trying to politicise the process, a fact acknowledged by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar.

“Regrettably, India is continuing its relentless terror campaign in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). There is no justification for India’s state-sponsored terrorism in IIOJK, where its security forces terrorise, torment and torture innocent Kashmiris with impunity, every day”, underlined the FO.

It pointed out that, deplorably, India has been harboring and protecting terrorists for decades. In 2019, it acquitted Swami Aseemanand, the main character of the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast that killed 43 Pakistani citizens on the Indian soil. Earlier this year, the Indian courts released 11 convicts of the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case during the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat. Similarly, during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks trial, India deliberately withheld witnesses and credible evidence from Pakistani courts, despite repeated requests over the last fourteen years, only to drag and perpetuate the case to serve its sinister political agenda.

“India’s involvement in inciting terrorism inside Pakistan is widely established and documented. In November 2020, Pakistan had released a comprehensive dossier providing evidence of India’s involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan. The convicted, serving, Indian Naval commander Kulbhushan Yadav is undeniable proof of India’s direct involvement in sabotage and terror. Indian links to TTP and other elements inimical to Pakistan inside Afghanistan are also well known”, it said.