ISLAMABAD   -   Pakistan yesterday warned Indus against any misadventure say­ing it has the capability to defend itself against any aggression, as ev­idenced by its forceful response to India's ac­tions in February 2019.

Speaking at a week­ly news briefing here, Foreign Office spokes­person Mumtaz Zeh­ra Baloch strongly condemned the provoc­ative statement made by India's Defence Min­ister, Rajnath Singh.

The Indian media had quoted him saying that the Indian army will not hesitate to cross the Line of Control if nec­essary. Baloch termed these remarks as un­warranted and com­pletely unacceptable, re­flecting India's hostility towards its neighbors, especially Pakistan.

She urges India to ex­ercise utmost caution, as their aggressive rhet­oric posed a threat to regional peace and sta­bility, further destabi­lizing the strategic envi­ronment in South Asia.

“Pakistan commits to acting responsibly and contributing to efforts that promote peace, se­curity, and stability in the region,” she said.

The Spokesper­son emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir was an internation­ally-recognized dis­puted territory, and New Delhi should fo­cus on implementing relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Baloch said Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhut­to Zardari had an active agenda over the last several days.

“The FM held import­ant telephone conver­sations with a number of his counterparts and leaders of international organizations and insti­tutions,” she added.

She elaborated that the FM held talks with Foreign Minister of Iran, Dr. Hossien Amir Abdollahian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Fed­eration, Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Min­ister of Türkiye, Hakan Fidan, For­eign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Organization of Is­lamic Cooperation Secretary General, Hissein Brahmin Taha, and High Rep­resentative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Pol­icy, Josep Borrell.

“In these conversations, bilater­al and regional issues of mutual in­terest were discussed. The main pur­pose of these calls was to discuss two key issues of concern to Pakistan: the alarming rise of Islamophobia and re­ligious hatred directed against Mus­lims, and discussions pertaining to the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI),” she said. The spokesperson said the Black Sea Grain Initiative was discussed be­tween the Foreign Ministers of Paki­stan and Ukraine last week. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had expressed a willingness to engage with relevant parties to promote dia­logue and consultation for the revival of the Initiative, she said. Baloch said that the Foreign Minister discussed BSGI in the telephone conversations with the Foreign Minister of Turkiye and Russia, the US Secretary of State and the EU High Representative, and the UN Secretary General. “The FM shared with them Pakistan’s concerns pertaining to food security and infla­tion resulting from BSGI’s expiry. He underscored the need for concert­ed efforts to revive the deal, taking into account the concerns of the rele­vant parties on the basis of mutual ac­commodation. Foreign Minister also shared Pakistan’s readiness to con­tribute to collective efforts in that re­gard,” she maintained.

Baloch said Pakistan “strongly con­demns the desecration of the Holy Quran and dishonoring of the Paki­stani flag in front of the Embassy of Pakistan in Copenhagen, Denmark. A strong protest has been lodged with the Government of Denmark. We ex­pect the Danish authorities to take all measures necessary to stop such acts of hatred and incitement.” She said Pakistan has always maintained that freedom of expression comes with re­sponsibilities. It is the responsibility of national governments, regional orga­nizations and the international com­munity at large to call out, condemn and proactively prevent the vile acts of Islamophobia and religious hatred.

As urged by the UN Human Rights Council, she said, the relevant coun­tries must address, prevent and pros­ecute such acts of religious hatred.

The international community must raise its collective voice against Islam­ophobia and work together to pro­mote inter-faith harmony and peaceful co-existence, she added. “Pakistan, for its part, will continue to raise the ques­tion of Islamophobia at the interna­tional level. This issue was a key point of telephone conversations of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with his counterparts from Iran, Saudi Ara­bia, and Turkiye and with Secretary General of OIC and the UN Secretary General. issues pertaining to these re­current acts of Islamophobia are being discussed at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah and the Human Rights Council in Geneva,” she mentioned.