Pakistan counters India’s bid to depict itself as champion against terrorism, says its hands have victims’ blood

UNITED NATIONS, Pakistan has deplored India’s attempt to project itself as a champion against international terrorism, as it did in the UN Security Council on Thursday, saying the Indians have no “moral authority” as terror victims’ blood is on their hands.

“India is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism – planning, promoting and financing terrorism against Pakistan, ” a statement issued by Pakistan’s Mission to the UN said in in response to Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s speech at a regular briefing of the 15-member Council on: Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts.

The council considered the 13th report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL /Da’esh to international peace and security.

Jaishankar, who presided over the briefing in India’s capacity as the council’s president for August, attempted to portray his county as a victim of cross-border attacks, especially from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and called for collectively fighting terrorism.

The Pakistan Mission statement called Jaishankar’s remarks “ironic”, and said India turned the Council’s briefing into its “signature” event.

“With the blood of thousands of victims of terrorism on its hands, India has no moral authority to preach actions against terrorism at any forum,” the statement added.

India’s deep involvement in terrorism has been proven, the statement said, referring to the capture of Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, and numerous terrorist attacks, such as Karachi Stock Exchange (29 June 2020); Lahore (23 June 2021); and most recently the killing of Chinese and Pakistani engineers in Dasu on 14 July 2021.

Pakistan, it said, has shared a dossier on India’s support and financing of UN-listed TTP (Tehreek-i-Taliban) & JuA (Jamaat-ul-Ahrar) to the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee.

“With the active support of Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies, TTP and JuA were responsible for nearly a thousand cross-border terrorist attacks against Pakistan in the last year alone,” the Pakistani statement said, adding the recent UN Monitoring Team’s report had highlighted cross-border terrorist threat to Pakistan from the Afghan soil.

“India has prevented Security Council’s consideration of Pakistan’s dossier containing the evidence of its sponsorship of anti-Pakistan terrorism and blocked the listing of Indian terror masters in the 1267 Committee,” it said.

To maintain its terrorist operations from Afghanistan, the statement said, India sought to undermine the peace process in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani statement said, “India today is being guided by the supremacist Hindutva ideology, represented by RSS, that has mainstreamed Islamophobia and targets minorities, particularly Muslims.

“Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K), unfortunately, continue to bear the brunt of this fascist ideology. India’s state terrorism in IIOJ&K enforced through an occupation force of 900,000 troops, has since 1990, resulted in martyrdom of over 100,000 innocent Kashmiris.”