Pakistan on Monday strongly criticised the “unwarranted, gratuitous, and provocative comments” made by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who described the country as a state sponsor of terrorism.
On Sunday, while addressing the inaugural function of the Swarnim Vijay Parv in New Delhi, Singh claimed that India-Pakistan’s 1971 war is proof that “the partition of India on the basis of religion was a historic mistake.”
“Pakistan was born in the name of one religion but it could not remain one. After the defeat of 1971, our neighbouring country is constantly waging a proxy war in India,” the minister said.
In fact, the ceremony at India Gate marked the 50 year anniversary of India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War as well as the Indo-Bangladesh friendship.
The war “wasn’t only against (the) Pakistani military, but against injustice and torture. It was not only India’s victory over Pakistan but of justice over injustice, of virtue over vice,” Singh asserted.
Singh further argued that Pakistan “wants to break India by promoting terrorism and other anti-India activities.” “Indian forces foiled its plans in 1971 and now work is going on to eliminate roots of terrorism by our brave forces. We have won in the direct war, and will achieve victory in the proxy was as well,” he continued.
In response, Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) issued a statement that strongly condemned Singh for “questioning established historical facts, levelling unfounded allegations in the context of terrorism, and hurling threats against Pakistan.”
The statement further added that Pakistan is “capable of thwarting India’s aggressive designs” and advised leaders of the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) to “desist from any ill-conceived misadventure.” FO spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad further stated that it was the BJP’s “special forte to misrepresent history, resort to revisionism and delusional thinking and indulge in false bravado.”
“Such discourse is particularly evident whenever elections in key states in India are approaching. The timing of the Indian defence minister’s provocative rhetoric is, therefore, not surprising as the BJP-RSS combine is desperate to win elections in Uttar Pradesh and other states, typically inciting hyper-nationalism and seeking to advance the extremist ‘Hindutva’ agenda,” Ahmad countered.
“The Indian defence minister’s chest-thumping and war-mongering is nothing but further evidence of India’s irresponsible behaviour and its relentless belligerence towards Pakistan,” Ahmad said, adding that Indian politicians must “stop dragging Pakistan into India's domestic politics for electoral gains.”