Pakistan says India's defence minister and Army chief made 'baseless accusations' against it

Pakistan on Wednesday rejected what it called the "baseless accusations" and "unfounded assertions" made by India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi. Singh on Tuesday accused Pakistan of making persistent attempts to destabilise India by sponsoring terrorism and said it must dismantle its terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) or face consequences.

On Monday, Indian Army chief Gen Dwivedi said Pakistan is the "epicentre" of terrorism and the cycle of violence in Jammu and Kashmir is being "orchestrated" from that country even as he described the overall situation in the Union Territory as "firmly" under control.

In a statement, the Pakistan Army on Wednesday rejected the remarks of the Indian Army chief about Pakistan being the "epicentre of terrorism".


"Such politically motivated and fallacious statements reflect the extreme politicization of the Indian Army," it said.

It said that "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."

"Pakistan takes strong exception to such baseless and unfounded statements," it added.

Separately, the Foreign Office said that "such rhetoric from Indian leadership cannot divert international attention" from the alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

It said that Jammu and Kashmir remains an "internationally recognised disputed territory", whose final status is to be determined in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. It added that India has no legal or moral grounds to assert claims over the territories of PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan also underscored that "such provocative statements" were counterproductive to regional peace and stability.

"Instead 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," the Foreign Office said.