Pakistan on Thursday dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the Indian Army conducted “surgical strikes” across the Line of Control in September 2016, reiterating that it is “false and baseless”.
In response to Modi’s remarks, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal told Dawn: “Repeating a lie does not turn it into the truth.”
Speaking to the Indian diaspora in London on Wednesday, Modi said that India had informed Pakistan about the military action before announcing it to media. He justified the move, saying that an attack on Indian soldiers deserved such a response.
India reportedly carried out the “surgical strikes” on September 29, 2016, days after a terrorist attack at an Army camp in Uri, which killed 17 soldiers. Pakistan had refuted the Indian government’s position that the Indian Army had crossed the Line of Control, and called it “cross-border fire”.
Faisal also criticised Modi for referring to Pakistan as a terror haven. “Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav is proof of Indian state-sponsored terrorism,” the Pakistani official alleged. The Indian prime minister on Wednesday said that Pakistan has “put a terror export industry in place and kill our innocent civilians”.
Jadhav, who India claims is a former Navy officer, was arrested by Pakistani officials on March 3, 2016, and accused of spying for the Indian intelligence agency. India said he had been kidnapped from Iran. Jadhav has been sentenced to death, but International Court of Justice has stayed his execution.
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