ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military and foreign office dismissed Wednesday Indian Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi’s statement about Islamabad being the engine of terrorism in its neighbourhood as “a classic case of extreme duplicity”.
“The Indian Army chief insinuating that Pakistan is the epicentre of terrorism is not only contrary to facts but also an exercise in futility to beat the dead horse of India’s default position – blaming Pakistan for internal reactions to state-sponsored brutality,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media arm, said.
Gen Dwivedi said last Monday that 60% of the terrorists eliminated by India last year were of Pakistan origin. He also alleged that 80% of terrorists active in the region were from Pakistan.
The remarks came against the backdrop of meetings between Pakistani and Bangladeshi military commanders in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, apparently to explore avenues for military cooperation amid a thaw in bilateral ties since ex-Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.
ISPR dismissed Gen Dwivedi’s remarks as “an attempt to deflect the world’s attention from India’s brutality in J&K, repression of minorities internally, and India’s trans-national repression”.
“The officer, in his earlier stint in J&K, personally oversaw the most brutal repression of Kashmiris. Such politically motivated and fallacious statements reflect the extreme politicisation of the Indian Army,” it alleged.
“Instead 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.”
The foreign office separately issued a strongly-worded response against what it said were “baseless and unfounded statements made by India’s defence minister (Rajnath Singh) and the Army chief on Jan 13 and 14, respectively”.
“India must introspect and address its own documented involvement in orchestrating targeted assassinations, acts of subversion, and state-sponsored terrorism in foreign territories,” the foreign office said.