“Figment of imagination”: India rejects Pakistan’s dossier on terror charges

India on Sunday refuted the claims by Pakistan in which it accused the former of involvement in many terror strikes in that country, saying that the claims of ‘proof’ are figments of imagination.

India’s External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Pakistan’s “desperate attempt” will find few takers as the “international community is aware of its tactics, and proof of Islamabad’s terror sponsorship has been admitted by none other than its own leadership”.

The angry reaction by India came a day after Pakistan unveiled a dossier claiming that it contains “irrefutable evidence of India’s sponsorship of terrorism in the country” and called on the international community to take notice and make efforts for peace and stability in South Asia.

The dossier was released during a joint press conference by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar in Islamabad and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

However, in response to media queries on the allegations, India’s spokesperson Srivastava said that the dossier is “yet another futile anti-India propaganda exercise”.

“The so-called claims of ‘proof’ against India enjoy no credibility, are fabricated and represent figments of imagination,” he said.

He described the press conference by Pakistan as a deliberate attempt by the country’s establishment to “shift focus from its internal political and economic failures and to justify cross-border terrorism, including ceasefire violations and infiltration at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir”.

Pakistan’s Qureshi, on his part, condemned the recent “ceasefire violations by India” across the Line of Control (LoC) and said the purpose of the presser was to show “the real face of India” to the world.

In the last three to four months, [people] may have felt that terrorism was being fanned in the nation again, he said, citing recent attacks in Peshawar and Quetta as examples.

“Today, Indian intelligence agencies are patronising banned outfits that are against Pakistan. Organisations like Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Jamaatul Ahrar (JuA). These organisations were defeated by Pakistan, they were flushed out of the country, [now India] is trying to breathe life into them again. They are being supplied ammunition and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and are being provoked to target ulema, notables, and police officials.”

Qureshi said India, in August of this year, united breakaway factions of the TTP — Hizbul Ahrar (HuA) and JuA — and that India was constantly trying to establish a consortium between TTP, BLA, BLF (Balochistan Liberation Front) and BRA (Baloch Republican Army) as part of its “grand design”.

In its response, India said the “face of global terror, Osama Bin Laden, was found in Pakistan, Pakistan’s PM glorified him as a ‘martyr’ from the floor of Parliament, he admitted the presence of 40,000 terrorists in Pakistan.”

“Their science and technology minister proudly claimed involvement and success of Pakistan, led by its prime minister, in the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 Indian soldiers were martyred,” India said.

Distant parts of the world have seen terror trail lead back to Pakistan, he said, adding concocting documents and peddling false narratives will not absolve Pakistan of such actions.

“We are confident the world will hold it to account,” he said.

Pakistan had yesterday said, “Whether world powers acknowledge it or not, India is a threat to the entire region and they must act to prevent India from continuing its sponsorship [of terrorism] in Pakistan. We reserve the right to defend ourselves in every possible way”.