Picture : Twitter / ANI
India has strongly condemned the “provocative and irresponsible” statements against it by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan over abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and said he is unaware of how international relations are conducted.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the comments made by Khan do not behove the post he holds.
Kumar was responding to a question on the call for a march from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to the Line of Control, which has been backed by Pakistan’s military, to protest India’s move.
At a rally held last month, Khan said he knew that majority of the youth in PoK wanted to stage the march to the LoC. However, he asked them to defer it until he fought the case at the UN General Assembly.
“This is not the first time that such statements have come from Pakistan. Pakistan’s prime minister holds a high constitutional office. He has given such statements even before. You have heard his statements even in the UNGA… such provocative and irresponsible language he has used. We condemn this,” Kumar said.
In his maiden speech at the UNGA last month, Khan raised the Kashmir issue and demanded that India must lift the “inhuman curfew” in Kashmir and release all “political prisoners”.
Further, India also stated that it ‘deeply regrets’ the statements of Turkey and Malaysia attacking New Delhi on the Kashmir issue, and termed it an internal matter.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India has friendly ties with both the countries.
He reiterated India’s position that Pakistan had invaded and illegally occupied parts of Jammu and Kashmir and the current developments in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are purely its internal matter.
Kumar called upon Ankara, which has issued several statements on Kashmir since August 6, to have a proper understanding of the situation in Kashmir before making further comments.
“India and Turkey are friendly countries. We, therefore, deeply regret that since August 6, there have been repeated statements by the Turkish government on a matter completely internal to India. These statements are factually incorrect, biased and unwarranted,” Kumar said.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had raised the Kashmir issue at the United Nations, alleging that India had ‘invaded and occupied’ Jammu and Kashmir and asked New Delhi to work with Pakistan to resolve the issue.
