ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it had solid proof of Indian state-sponsored terrorism on its land.
Speaking at the weekly press briefing here, Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said the confessional statement of RAW agent Kulbhushan Yadav had proved that Indian secret agencies were continuously involved in subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan.
He said Pakistan had asked the Indian government to pursue the path of dialogue and engagement, rather than confrontation, violence and terrorism. “India has always shirked from dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu & Kashmir dispute. Pakistan believes just resolution of the Kashmir dispute is essential for normalisation of relations with India,” he added.
To a question about the statement of Indian minister of state in which her termed the RSS a terrorist outfit, he said the statement should be seen in the backdrop of public confession by the RSS activist, Swami Aseemanand, on involvement in February 2007 terrorist attack on the Samjhota Express in which mostly Pakistanis were killed.
“Swami was the mastermind; he had also identified other terrorists involved belonging to Abhinav Bharat, headed by the then serving Indian Army Colonel, Prohit. RSS was instrumental in the genocide of more than 500,000 Kashmiri Muslims during November 1947. Our FM’s letter to the Chair UNCIP also reflects on the RSS's gruesome activities," he said.
Responding to another query, Zakaria said: “We have submitted the dossier on Kulbhushan Yadav very recently. This dossier is based on the confessions and revelations made by Kulbhushan Yadav. What we had submitted earlier was the evidence and information that reflected on Indian involvement in terrorism, which had been gathered.
“Indian involvement in Pakistan’s internal matters is a longstanding problem that we have been raising with the international community for quite some time.”
In 2013, he said: “We also saw a statement of the then US Defence Secretary, Chuck Hagel, who revealed how India financed instability in Pakistan from Afghanistan.” He also referred to the statement of Ajit Doval in which he said India will use the Taliban against Pakistan.
Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parriker also stated that they would use terrorists against Pakistan. “You have also seen the Indian statements on Balochistan at the highest political level. All these statements is an undeniable proof of Indian involvement in perpetrating terrorism and terror financing in Pakistan,” he said.
Talking about instability in Afghanistan, Zakaria said not only Islamabad, but also a
number of independent studies and assessments had established that the factors impeding reconciliation and stability in Afghanistan were internal to Afghanistan.
He said the increasing foothold of various terrorist organizations and outfits due to persistent instability in Afghanistan was a growing concern for not only Pakistan, but also for other countries in the region and beyond.
“Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), General Nicholson’s annual assessment report and various other UN reports have amply identified that risks and obstacles in the way to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan remain internal”, he remarked.
To a question about the hostile statements of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in which he had pointed the finger at Pakistan for the recent terror attacks in Afghanistan, he said Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Bajwa had not only condoled, but also offered cooperation to tackle militancy.
“We reject the Afghan government’s baseless allegations. The accusatory approach is unhelpful towards efforts for peace. Pakistan has suffered from the terrorism and has made unparalleled sacrifices. We have done more than any other nation in the world in the fight against terrorism," the spokesman commented.
He said it was disappointing that some elements having no interest in peace in Afghanistan and wanting to damage the Afghan-Pakistan relations had been maligning Pakistan for their own agenda.
Referring to China’s shut-up call to India on the passing of CPEC through Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, he said Pakistan too had clarified that CPEC was basically an economic project that will benefit the entire region.
On Wednesday Prime Minister Modi and his foreign secretary had also pointed to the CPEC. Modi had asked Beijing to show “respect and sensitivity” to Delhi’s concerns and interests while Jaishanker criticized Beijing for not honoring India’s concerns bout the territorial integrity.
“Regarding India declaring Kashmir as their integral part, Kashmir is a disputed territory and it is an internationally recognized dispute. So, any claim to that effect by India is a violation of UNSC resolutions, which call for plebiscite and realising Kashmiris’ rights to self-determination”, said the spokesman.
He said the Indian Held Kashmir today was the most militarized zone in the world with one Indian soldier for every 12 Kashmiris. “Over several decades Indian occupation forces have massacred over 1.5 million Kashmiris. During the current phase of uprising since 8 July, 2016 they have once again unleashed the reign of terror targeting innocent civilians including children.
Pellet guns have been used to deliberately target the eyes of peaceful protesters resulting in permanent blindness of around 1,000 people, including young girls and children”, reminded the spokesman.
He said Pakistan was aware that India was expanding not only its conventional arms capability, but also international reports had pointed to Delhi building new nuclear facilities. “We have consistently maintained that both India and Pakistan should agree on meaningful measures for restraint and avoidance of nuclear or conventional arms race in the region.
India’s expansion of its conventional and nuclear capabilities goes against the objective of strategic stability in South Asia. Without appropriate non-proliferation safeguards, the NSG exemption would lead to expansion in the Indian capacity to produce fissile material for military use,” warned the spokesman.
Meanwhile, commenting on criticism coming from Washington on Pakistan’s nuclear policy, the spokesman said it was unfair to blame Pakistan for the nuclearization of South Asia. “It was India, which introduced the nuclear factor in South Asia. Obviously, Pakistan had no option but to follow suit to avoid nuclear blackmail. Last year, India conducted 120 tests of various missile systems including SLBM, ICBM, etc. India is rapidly enhancing its conventional and nuclear arsenals quantitatively and qualitatively," argued the spokesman.
Pakistan’s policy, he said, was committed to avoidance of arms race in South Asia and had demonstrated utmost restraint while taking necessary steps for the maintenance of credible minimum deterrence.
“Those worried about the risk of nuclear weapons in South Asia should impress upon India to positively respond to Pakistan’s proposal of Strategic Restraint Regime (SRR)”, the spokesman reminded Washington without naming it.
