ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Tuesday rejected allegations by India’s army chiefof the “reactivation of a terror camp” in the Pakistani town of Balakot,terming it an attempt to divert the international community’s attentionfrom the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Army ChiefGeneral Bipin Rawat’s allegations are completely baseless.
“The Indian allegations of ‘infiltration’ from Pakistan reflected adesperate attempt to divert international attention from the humanitariannightmare in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir being perpetrated by Indianoccupation forces,” said ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal.
Faisal added that India would neither succeed in misleading the worldcommunity through these diversionary tactics nor will it be able to hideits unabated state terrorism in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
On Monday, Rawat said a terror camp in Balakot has been reactivated byPakistan and there are at least 500 people waiting to infiltrate intoKashmir.
Speaking to reporters after inaugurating the Young Leaders Training Wing atthe Officers Training Academy in Chennai, Rawat said more troops had beendeployed and there was no hesitation to go beyond strikes in Balakot, butthey would like to keep Pakistan guessing, the Times of India reported.
However, Pakistan said the insincerity and lack of credibility of Indianstatements has been further exposed by the fact that India severely hindersthe functioning of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India andPakistan (UNMOGIP) and limits the free and unhampered mobility of itspersonnel, which is in complete contrast with Pakistan’s approach ofallowing full facilitation of their free movement.
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“In 2019, Indian ceasefire violations had caused a huge human tollresulting in the shahdat (martyrdom) of 26 innocent civilians and injuriesto 124 others,” Faisal said
He added that India’s belligerent rhetoric and actions are a threat toregional peace and stability and urged it to act responsibly and refrainfrom steps that only serve to worsen the already tense environment.
Tensions between the two South Asian nuclear neighbors have mountedfollowing the Indian government’s move on Aug. 5 to scrap the specialstatus of Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir has been under a near-completelockdown since then, with the government blocking communication access andimposing restrictions on movement to thwart any protests in the region.
