ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday said India had ‘miserably failed’ in its attempt to isolate Pakistan as its notion was ‘ridiculous.’
Addressing a weekly media briefing here, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said Indian obsession to malign Pakistan had not been appreciated by the mature countries.
“Firstly, Indian attempts to isolate Pakistan have miserably failed. Given Pakistan's geo-strategically important situation in the region of international interest, the very notion of isolating Pakistan is ridiculous,” he said.
Besides, he said, Indian negative policies towards Pakistan and regional integration efforts under various regional groupings had exposed India as the biggest hurdle in the development of the region, which was a hub of world’s largest poor population.
“Indian activities should be seen as its desperation to deflect international attention from its crimes against humanity in Kashmir. The Indian denial to resolve all outstanding issues including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute are clearly at tangent with its claims for a peaceful neighbourhood,” Zakaria said.
He said Indian brutalities in the wake of Burhan Wani's cold blooded murder had already warranted strong response from the international community.
“There have been voices from across the world, and all strata of society urging India for an immediate halt to the gross human rights violations it is committing on the people of Kashmir with impunity,” the spokesman said.
Gradually, he said, all this pressure is mounting on India. “This is exactly why we see India's desperate attempts to divert world attention from Held Kashmir by levelling baseless and false allegations against Pakistan. It is not about Pakistan's diplomatic success, victory or anything. It is about the plight of helpless Kashmiri people,” he said.
Regarding the Indian violations along the Line of Control, he said there had been more than 100 ceasefire violations by India in 2016 alone.
“Let me give you the statistics; in 2015 there were 39 deaths and 150 injuries. In 2016, so far, there have been one death and eight injuries due to India's aggression and blatant ceasefire violations on the Line of Control continuously,” he elaborated.
He said Pakistan was closely following the developments and will not accept any violation of the Indus Water Treaty. “We will take appropriate action in line with the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty, in case of any violation of IWT,” he added.
The spokesman said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements on Balochistan and former East Pakistan are proof of Indian interference in Pakistan.
Commenting on a statement of Indian home minister Rajnath Singh blaming Pakistan of harbouring terrorism, the spokesman said the remarks did not reflect India's own subversive activities in Pakistan, from terror-financing to using Afghan soil against Pakistan.
He said confession of apprehended Research and Analysis Wing operative Kulbushan Yadav, a serving Indian naval officer, was an irrefutable proof.
“Terror financing by India in Pakistan from Afghan soil has also been publicly mentioned by a former US secretary,” he said.
Asked to comment on India misusing its influence on South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Zakaria said, “We deplore this Indian decision to use Saarc for its political ambitions.”
He mentioned that Saarc in the past had been postponed for eight times, and five times it was because of India.
Whether Pakistan was considering to set up a South Asian economic alliance to counter Indian hold on Saarc, the spokesman said Pakistan being at the confluence of South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia was already in the making of an economic hub of the region.
He said Pakistan wanted the United States to intervene on the Kashmir issue and help solve the dispute. “We continue to urge our American friends, including those in the Administration, to play their due role in resolving bilateral issues between Pakistan and India, particularly the Kashmir dispute. Pakistan welcomes, as it has welcomed in the past, mediation offer,” he said.
Zakaria, however, declined to comment on the statement of US presidential candidate Donald Trump who offered to mediate between the two South Asian neighbours, if elected, terming it a media report.
To a question on US demand of hitting at specific militant groups, the spokesman said Pakistan did not draw distinction against any group in its efforts to eliminate terrorists.
Zakaria said while there were saner voices in India criticizing the Hindutva anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan mentality, “there are many who have surrendered to the threats from Hindu extremists and members of Hindu terrorist organizations.”
He said the Indian leadership cannot segregate Pakistani people and Pakistan by saying that they had nothing against the people while their entire government machinery and other institutions are working against Pakistan.
On Afghanistan, he said Pakistan hails the agreements between Afghan National Government and Hizb-e-Islami. He said Pakistan wanted peace in Afghanistan
Questioned about the agreements between India and Russia, he said: “We do not comment on bilateral ties of two sovereign nations.”
Regarding reports of secret talks recently held between Afghan government and Taliban in Qatar, Zakaria said Pakistan would not like to comment on Taliban's rapprochement with any other country.
He said Pakistan supported politically-initiated settlement of the Afghan issue aiming at peace, adding that negotiations with any other faction was an intra-Afghan matter.
Asked if there was any consultations going on between Pakistan and China for the inclusion of Iran in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Zakaria said CPEC projects, when completed, will not only benefit Pakistan and China but also contribute to the development of the region.
He said Pakistan had a principled stance on the issue of South China Sea. Pakistan maintains that disputes over the South China Sea should be peacefully resolved, through consultations and negotiations by states directly concerned, in accordance with bilateral agreements and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.