The Foreign Office of Pakistan on Friday said it was unfortunate that “India’s reckless conduct has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict” as military tensions between Pakistan and India escalate, reports Dawn.
The statement comes amid the ongoing escalation between Pakistan and India, which started after New Delhi launched attacks in several Pakistani cities. Islamabad promptly responded to the attacks.
While addressing his weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Friday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said: “Indian actions are a flagrant violation of the UN charter, international law, and established norms governing interstate relations.”
“It is most unfortunate that India’s reckless conduct has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict,” he said.
“India’s jingoism and war hysteria should be a source of serious concern for the world,” he added.
The spokesperson noted that South Asia is home to one-fifth of the world’s population, who can “ill-afford the irresponsible actions like the ones being carried out by India.”
He said that in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, the Indian leadership has “once again used the bogey of terrorism to advance its sham narrative of victimhood, jeopardising regional peace.”
The spokesperson reiterated that Pakistan rejected any attempt to link it to the attack in Pahalgam.
He noted that a number of countries and international organisations had called on both countries to exercise restraint over the past two weeks, and it was “highly deplorable that India did not pay heed to these calls”.
“The international community should hold India accountable for its irresponsible, unlawful and belligerent conduct,” he said.
He rebutted referenced remarks made yesterday by India’s Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri during a press briefing.
“The assertion that Pakistan escalated the situation through the Pahalgam attack of April 22 is totally absurd. To date, India has not been able to produce any credible and verifiable evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the attack.
“To the contrary, the acts of aggression committed by its armed forces had the approval and support of its entire government,” he said. “Thus, it is India that has escalated the situation by violating Pakistan’s sovereignty and killing civilians.”
He continued that “the Pakistani forces did not attack Pahalgam, but the Indian forces did attack multiple locations in Pakistan,” adding that Pakistan reserves the right to take all measures in its self-defence as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
