India misleading world with malicious allegations: FO

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office of Pakistan on Thursday said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has misrepresented the Eleventh Report of the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team (MT) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting the threat to the peace, stability and security of Afghanistan, to slander Pakistan.

“Pakistan categorically rejects India’s malicious allegations, which are aimed at misleading the international community,” FO Spokesperson Ayesha Farooqui said in a statement.

She explained there is no reference to “safe havens” in Pakistan in the Monitoring Team (MT) report.

“The Report is based on briefings provided in Afghanistan to the MT by certain quarters who have long expressed skepticism about the Afghan peace process. This skepticism is not shared by the larger international community, especially the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary General,” she added.

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“The MEA’s distortion and falsification of the contents of the MT report and its concocted allegations reveal that India’s agenda is to create complications for the Afghan peace process. Pakistan has warned the world about the role of spoilers within and outside Afghanistan.”

Ayesha Farooqui said Pakistan has been highlighting India’s sponsorship of terrorist organisations in Afghanistan against Pakistan. “The MT report endorses Pakistan’s stance that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is operating from Afghanistan and with Indian support threatens Pakistan and other countries in the region.”

“Pakistan has proposed the listing of several Indian terrorism facilitators on the UN Security Council’s terrorism list along with evidence of their involvement in terrorism. We hope the Security Council will designate them soon.”

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The spokesperson said the MT has also assessed that foreign terrorist fighters from India are traveling to Afghanistan to join the ISIL-Khorasan (ISIL-K). Security Council resolutions require India to prevent the travel of terrorists to Afghanistan to join ISIL-K, she added.

She said the report also notes that an Indian national, the leader of AI Qaeda in the Indian Sub­ Continent, was killed by international forces last year in Afghanistan as earlier reports of MT also highlight the growing strength of ISIL in India and its role in Easter Sunday attack in 2019.