India Slams Pakistan Over Hafiz Saeed Remarks, Reaffirms Claim on Gilgit-Baltistan

New Delhi: India on Friday rubbished Pakistan’s claim that issuing a non-bailable warrant against Lashkar-e-Tayyaba chief Hafiz Saeed is part of India’s standard playbook to use sham legal processes and promote mischievous activities. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) countered by saying it is Pakistan’s decades-long sponsorship for terrorism which it continues to use as an instrument of state policy.

“The Pahalgam terror attack took several innocent lives. You all saw its barbarity. Our authorities have begun investigations in the matter and it continues. As far as cross-border terrorism is concerned, you are well aware of Pakistan's decades-long sponsorship and support for it as also its continued use as an instrument of state policy… Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on matters which are internal to India,” said Mr Randhir Jaiswal, MEA spokesperson.

While responding to media questions on the issue of NBW to Hafiz Saeed, for his alleged role in Pahalgam terror attack, and the chargesheet filed by National Investigation Agency (NIA) against senior leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in connection with a mob violence incident of 1996, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson had said on Thursday that all these are “part of the standard Indian playbook to use sham legal processes and promote fabricated and politically motivated rhetoric for a range of mischievous objectives.” He also termed action on Hurriyat leaders as a policy to target the Kashmiri political leadership while using sympathetic words for them.

Meanwhile, the Indian government reacted strongly to the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly’s unanimous resolution seeking provincial status from Pakistan stressing that the region “was, is and will always be a part of India". Mr Jaiswal said India has consistently maintained that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of the country.