NEW DELHI, Mar 18: After the External Affairs minister S Jaishankar lambasted the United Nations for faltering on the Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir holding both the “attacker” (Pakistan) and the “victim” (India) in the same bracket, India on Tuesday told Pakistan to vacate the area it illegally has occupied in Kashmir after officials there passed remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s views on the situation he reflected during his podcast with famous US computer scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman.
“Instead of spreading lies, Pakistan should vacate Indian territory under its illegal and forcible occupation,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
PM Modi’s podcast went live on Sunday, gaining global attention and praise from the US to China. Pakistan too took note even as it objected to the Indian leader’s remarks that every attempt to restore peace between the neighbours was met with hostility and betrayal. While claiming that the remarks were “one-sided,” the country’s foreign office, in a statement, also mentioned Kashmir, in another act of provocation.
“We note that Pakistan has once again made some comments about the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The world knows that the real issue is Pakistan’s active promotion and sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. In fact this is the biggest roadblock to peace and security in the region,” Jaiswal said.
Mr Modi in the podcast spoke about India-Pakistan tensions. He said the issue was not due to ideological differences but due to the neighbour’s “terrorist mindset.” He added that Pakistan has become a global hub of unrest, affecting not just India but the entire world.
“Don’t mistake this for ideology. What kind of ideology thrives on bloodshed and the export of terror, and we are not the sole victims of this menace. Wherever terror strikes in the world, the trail somehow leads to Pakistan. Let’s take the September 11th attacks, for example. The main mastermind behind it, Osama bin Laden, where did he eventually emerge from? He had taken refuge in Pakistan,” PM Modi had said.
“The world has recognised that in a way terrorism and the terrorist mindset are deeply rooted in Pakistan.” “We have repeatedly asked them what good can come from this path? We have urged them to abandon the path of state-sponsored terrorism for good, “What do you hope to gain by surrendering your nation to lawless forces?” I even personally travelled to Lahore in the pursuit of peace,” he said, referring to his visit to Lahore in 2015.
(Manas Dasgupta)
