Says no country has used terrorism better than India
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday said that India was the ‘biggest’ perpetrator of terrorism.
The minister made these remarks while addressing the media in Islamabad on the actions Pakistan has taken to highlight India’s state-sponsored terrorism against the country.
She also talked about “irrefutable evidence” of the involvement of the Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing, in the blast at Johar Town, Lahore last year.
The minister said that the foreign ministry of Pakistan called in the diplomatic corps and shared a dossier with them, adding that the dossier has details of how India has been found to be fully behind this particular incident.
“We don’t, unlike our neighbours, go the next day and blame one country or the other. We waited till we had strong evidence before making the case that we are making today,” Khar added.
The minister further said that Pakistan has been on the receiving end of the scourge of terrorism, adding that terrorism in all forms and manifestations is condemnable and that it poses a serious threat to peace and security.
“Yet the other country, which is the source of terrorism in Pakistan continues to play the drum of being the victim of terrorism,” the minister stated. Khar said the Lahore incident was planned and supported by India and the main motive was to target innocent civilians in Pakistan.
“It reflects India’s persistent hostility towards my country [Pakistan] and the use of terrorist proxies to achieve nefarious objectives and we believe objectives which are actually going to harm them also,” she said.
The minister added that the masterminds and the facilitators of the incident remain at large and “under Indian state patronage and protection”.
“I can assure you that the government of Pakistan will pursue this relentlessly,” she said.
The minister added that India’s terrorist proxies continue to use neighbours’ territories and blatant support to Baloch militant organizations points to one objective which is to undermine Pakistan’s peace and security.
“No country has used terrorism better than India. To play on the back of the attention of the world on terrorism and to play the victim, no country has benefitted from it better than India,” Khar stated.
The minister further said that India portrays itself as a champion of counter-terrorism, whereas, it remains a country that has made no contribution to international counter-terrorism and paid only lip service.
“If you compare Pakistan and India, you will find Pakistan to always be at the forefront of counter-terrorism, of ensuring that we are a player in the world to try and make sure terrorism does not continue to haunt us,” the minister added.
Khar added that India blatantly violates international laws and regulations and continues terrorist activities and their support, facilitation, and financing.
India is a country that continues to operate as a “rogue state”, said the minister. “A country that tries to deny the existence of UNSC resolutions and insists on other countries imagining a certain part of a disputed territory as its own shows what type of a mindset this country has,” she added.
The minister then went on to say that India has been paralyzing the UNSC’s sanctions regime by blocking and listing Indian terrorists actively aided and financed by the State of India.
Khar then shared four names of Indian nationals whose listing has been blocked by India. The names included Govinda Patnaik, Parthas Arti, Rajesh Kumar, and Dumgara.
Giving examples of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Balochistan the minister added, “I don’t think I need to remind anyone that India has had a role in destabilising its neighbouring countries and weakening their economies to try and pursue its hegemonic designs in the region”.
