'Behave Like Normal Neighbour': India Blasts Pakistani Leadership For 'Irresponsible' Statements On Kashmir

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday slammed Pakistani leadership for its "irresponsible" statements on the Kashmir issue.

MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. AFP

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday slammed Pakistan for "irresponsible" and "provocative" statements of its leaders on the Kashmir issue. Addressing the media here, Raveesh Kumar, MEA spokesperson, said: "We strongly condemn the recent statements by Pakistani leadership on matters internal to India. These are very irresponsible statements." The provocative statements include call for jihad and inciting violence in India, he said. Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories, evoking strong reactions from the neighbouring country. On Wednesday, Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said that he feels that a full-fledged war will be fought between India and Pakistan in October or November this year. Last week, Ahmad had said that the war would not be one between just India and Pakistan but will encompass the whole of the Indian subcontinent. "We are aware that Pakistan uses terror as state policy and each time we have made them aware of our concerns. We have received information that Pakistan is trying to infiltrate terrorists. We demand that Pakistan must act against the terror groups operating on its soil," Kumar said. "It is important for them (Pakistan) to now start behaving like a normal neighbour. What do normal neighbours do? You don't push terrorists into a neighbouring country. You do normal talk, normal trade. This is not something which is happening from Pakistan," he added. Referring to a letter written by Pakistan Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari to the United Nations, Kumar said it is not even worth the paper on which it was written. "The letter is not even worth the paper on which it was written. Don’t want to give credence to it by reacting." In the letter to 18 UN Special Procedures mandate-holders, Mazari asked them to intervene to stop the alleged violations of international human rights laws in Kashmir in accordance with their respective mandates. Mazari urged the UN to request India to end the communications shutdown in Kashmir, ensure compliance with its international human rights obligations and ensure that the conduct of its security forces complies with the stipulations of the UN laws. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.