New Delhi: India on Wednesday categorically rejected Pakistan’s “futile attempts” to observe August 5 as ‘Youm-e-Istehsal’ or ‘Day of Exploitation’ to oppose the scrapping of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir seven years ago.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pakistan’s attempts to interfere in India’s internal matters were intended “solely” to deflect attention from its own “dismal” human rights record and its status as the “global epicentre of terrorism”.
The Indian government on August 5, 2019 had revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union territories.
Since then Pakistan has been marking the day as the Youm-e-Istehsal.
“India categorically rejects the political absurdity and futile attempts by Pakistan to observe the so-called Youm-e-Istehsal to spread malicious propaganda against India,” Jaiswal said.
He was responding to certain comments made by Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar who said New Delhi’s action seven years back had complicated efforts to bring peace and stability in South Asia.
He asserted that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “are, have always been, and shall forever remain an integral and inalienable part of India”.
Jaiswal said the constitutional changes made in 2019 are entirely an internal matter of India.
“These decisions have brought unprecedented socio-economic development, good governance, and democratic empowerment to the people of the region. Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on matters that are strictly internal to India,” he said.
The spokesperson said Pakistan’s “desperate attempts to peddle falsehoods” are intended “solely to deflect” international attention from its own “dismal human rights record and its status as the global epicentre of terrorism”.
“The international community is currently witnessing the brutal suppression of fundamental rights in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK),” he said.
Jaiswal also made a mention of Pakistan’s crackdown on protesters in PoJK.
“The recent weeks have seen Pakistani security forces resorting to lethal violence, targeted killings, and draconian bans to silence peaceful civil rights protests led by the local populace,” he said.
At least 90 people were killed in the crackdown by Pakistani forces on protesters in PoJK since June.
“Such state-sponsored violence against unarmed civilians exposes the profound hypocrisy of the Pakistani establishment,” Jaiswal said.
“Instead of engaging in predictable diplomatic theatre, Pakistan would be well-advised to stop the bloodshed in PoJK, take credible, verifiable, and irreversible action against terror networks operating from its soil, and immediately vacate all Indian territories under its illegal and forcible occupation,” he said.
“The world is not fooled by these orchestrated spectacles,” Jaiswal added.
