Pakistan has no locus standi in addressing Kashmir situation, says External Affairs Ministry
Vikas Swarup said arrested militant Bahadur Ali's confessions were proof of Pakistan's continued involvement in cross-border terrorism and infiltration.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Thursday that Pakistan has no locus standi in addressing the Jammu and Kashmir situation, calling it "an internal matter" of India's. His comments came a day after the National Investigation Agency revealed that Pakistani militant Bahadur Ali had confessed to training in Lashkar-e-Taiba camps and infiltrating India.
Swarup said the capture of Ali and his consequent confessions were proof of Pakistan's continued involvement in cross border terrorism and infiltration. He added, "It does not matter how many letters are written to the United Nations, it will still not whitewash cross-border terrorism." Pakistan had written to the UN expressing concern over the current unrest in Kashmir, while Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had said he was "obliged" to be the voice of those oppressed in the state.
Pakistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Nafees Zakaria, however, contested Swarup's claims and said that his country has always rejected the allegations of any infiltration across the Line of Control.
India on Tuesday issued a démarche, or political initiative, to Pakistan for instigating cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to communicate his objection on the subject.