New Delhi: India hit back at Pakistan on Tuesday over its reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments on Pakistan’s “proxy war” against this country, saying that it remained a “core concern” in its ties with its neighbour.
This verbal spat comes just days ahead of the meeting of the two foreign secretaries to be held in Islamabad on August 25, when these top diplomats are expected to “find a way forward”. New Delhi’s sharp comments against Pakistan came after Islamabad accused Mr Modi of “baseless rhetoric against Pakistan regarding terrorism”.
Pakistan foreign ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam reiterated her country’s oft-repeated lament that it too was a victim of the “menace” of terror.
India was, however, clearly not amused with Islamabad’s response.
Ministry of external affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said: “Terrorism for us is a clear and present danger. The PM was articulating what is for us the core concern in our relations with Pakistan.
Mere denials of selective approaches towards terrorism are not going to drive away our concerns.”
He said that India’s concerns stem from the fact that some of the worst terrorist attacks in India either owe their genesis to areas under Pakistani control or were in Pakistan.
