Pakistan slams Indian defence minister’s ‘provocative’ remarks on crossing LoC

Pakistan on Wednesday condemned the “provocative remarks” made by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Drass, Ladakh, boasting readiness to cross the Line of Control (LoC) and reminded the Indian leadership that it was fully capable of defending against any aggression.

“We counsel India to exercise utmost caution as its belligerent rhetoric is a threat to the regional peace and stability, and contributes to destabilizing the strategic environment in South Asia,” the Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a press statement.

This was not the first time India’s political leaders and senior military officers had made highly irresponsible remarks about Azad Jammu, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

“This kind of jingoistic statements must stop. The Indian leadership is reminded that Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself against any aggression,” she added.

The spokesperson further said that dragging Pakistan into India’s populist public discourse to stoke hyper-nationalism and reap electoral gains needed to end.

It added that Everything from history to law and morality to the situation on the ground belied India’s claims about Jammu and Kashmir, an internationally recognised disputed territory.

“The relevant UN Security Council resolutions stipulated that the territory’s final disposition would be made according to the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations,” according to the press statement.

“India would be well-advised to faithfully implement these resolutions rather than entertaining notions of grandeur,” the spokesperson said.