No country has used terrorism better for their benefit than India, said Minister of the State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, in which she highlighted India’s problematic role in furthering terrorism in the region.
Her presser came after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s revelation that India’s footprints are seen in all terror activities carried out in Pakistan. The minister had said that New Delhi’s activities have gone “beyond that of an enemy state” just to hide its atrocities in occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Sanaullah’s presser had focused on the blast in Lahore’s Johar Town in 2021.
Evidence reflects India’s persistent hostility towards Pakistan
Khar said that there was “clear evidence” of the terrorist attack being “planned and supported” by India. “It reflects India’s persistent hostility towards my country and the use of terrorist proxies to achieve terrorist objectives.”
She started the news conference by saying that terrorism poses a serious threat to peace, adding that Pakistan had been at the receiving end of this scourge for long.
She said that when there was “undeniable, indisputable” evidence and it was necessary to “call a spade a spade”.
“This particular effort is to bring to the attention of the world and to expect them and encourage them to see things based on evidence.”
The minister of state for foreign affairs called on international organisations like the United Nations and Financial Action Task Force to take responsibility for holding India accountable.
Pakistan’s dossier
She added that the Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed Khan had called the members of diplomatic corps in Islamabad and shared Pakistan’s dossier.
“This dossier has detailed evidence of how India has been found to be fully behind this incident that led to this loss of life,” said Khar on the Johar Town blast.
The state minister said that Pakistan does not unlike, India, go the next day blame one country or the other.
“We waited till we had strong hard evidence to be making the case we are making today,” said the state minister.
She added that Islamabad believes that such objectives would harm Indian as well because when one tries to burn their neighbour’s house, the fire will come and burn them as well.
The state minister said that the law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities have brought the front men of the attack to justice.
“The masterminds and the facilitators remain at large and under Indian state patronage and protection. I assure you that the Government of Pakistan will pursue this relentlessly,” said Khar.
‘New Delhi continuously uses terrorist proxies’
The minister said that New Delhi continuously uses terrorist proxies and gives blatant support to Baloch militant organisations.
“All of these point to one objective and one method, which is to ruin the peace in Pakistan and the method is terrorism. What India is doing can be called many things. One fragment of the sentence which describes it well is chronic terrorism syndrome,” said Khar.
She added that New Delhi was consistently paralysing United Nations Security Council’s sanctions regime by blocking the listing of Indian terrorists aided and financed by the state of India.
“I have four names here which are of Indian nationals whose listing has been blocked by India. Gobinda Patnaik, Parthasarathy, Rajesh Kumar, and Dungara. All four names blocked by India in UNSC listing.,” said Khar.
The state minister reminded New Delhi that it cannot have islands of excellence in a sea of depravity.
“When you try and harm your region, you actually end up harming yourself,” she added.
