Pakistan on Friday urged India to stop misrepresenting facts and accept the downing of six fighter jets, as well as damages to other military targets, during the conflict between the neighboring countries earlier this year.
Earlier this week, in an address at a university convocation in India, Doval claimed Delhi successfully hit nine identified targets within Pakistan on May 7. Further, he claimed, New Delhi did not suffer any collateral damage during Pakistan’s retaliation, challenging media to prove him otherwise.
Describing Doval’s remarks as “replete with distortions and misrepresentations,” Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told a weekly press briefing that such statements reflected “a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.” He further maintained that such boasts of military aggression against a sovereign state “are a grave breach of the United Nations Charter and established principles of international law.”
Khan urged India to stop resorting to fictitious narratives, adding the country should accept the downing of six fighter jets and severe damages to other military targets. He also said it was public knowledge that the “terrorist” targets attacked by India had caused civilian casualties.
To a question, the spokesperson reiterated that India’s involvement in sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan was “very clear,” adding the international community was coming to recognize this. “Initially, the Indian state-sponsored terrorism was targeting Pakistan, but we have seen that in the recent past, it has gone global. If this Indian malign approach is not checked, we have seen the consequences of that,” he warned, pointing to Indian targeting of individuals in several Western states, including Canada and the United States.
On terrorist infiltration from Afghanistan, Khan said the issue was once again highlighted during recent additional secretary level talks between the two countries. “We stay engaged with the Afghan authorities and approach the dialogue with good faith,” he said, adding Islamabad desired “friendly, brotherly, neighborly relations” with Kabul. However, he stressed, the core issue remains sanctuaries enjoyed by the terrorists inside Afghan territory. “We hope Afghan side will take up our concerns with more seriousness and greater responsibility,” he added.
To another question on U.S. President Donald Trump’s reported threat to bomb Beijing if China invaded Taiwan, Khan said he would not speculate on a potential occurrence. However, he emphasized that Pakistan’s close ties with China, saying the countries are iron brothers and strategic allies. “We historically have very strong relations with the U.S. and we are keen to continue these relations,” he said, adding Islamabad hoped a trade agreement between the two states would soon be signed.