ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reacted strongly to irresponsible comments in asection of Indian media about detention of some Pakistanis in Sri Lanka,calling it an attempt to malign the country.
Some Indian media outlets had tried to link the detention with the EasterSunday suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels that killed 359people in Sri Lanka. At least 500 people were injured in the April 21attacks.
According to the information shared by Sri Lankan officials, sevenPakistanis were recently detained by the law enforcement authorities onaccount of overstay on their visas. “This is a purely consular matter andprojecting it in any other manner is patently mischievous,” Foreign OfficeSpokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said in a statement on Wednesday.
Such attempts by elements in the Indian media were reflective of aparticular, though familiar, mindset bent on twisting facts to malignPakistan on any pretext, he added.
The spokesperson also drew attention to the call of the Sri Lankanleadership to avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation in thisconnection.
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The deadly blasts have been claimed by the Islamic State group, with SriLanka’s government pointing the finger at the little-known local groupNational Thowheeth Jama’ath, but saying the group likely had‘international’ help.
Nearly 60 people have been detained since the Sunday blasts, which rippedthrough high-end hotels and churches packed with Easter worshippers in thecapital Colombo and beyond.
