India on Thursday strongly rejected the remarks made by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Jammu and Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) during the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, describing them as “baseless and unwarranted.”
Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pakistan had once again misused a multilateral forum to spread falsehoods, propagate state-sponsored disinformation and divert attention from its record of sponsoring cross-border terrorism.
He said India categorically rejects the comments made by the Pakistani leader and asserted that Islamabad has repeatedly exploited international platforms to promote misleading narratives.
Reiterating India’s position on Jammu and Kashmir, Jaiswal said the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have always been, and will continue to remain, integral and inalienable parts of India. He added that Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on India’s internal matters.
On the Indus Waters Treaty, the MEA spokesperson said India’s position remains unchanged. He stated that the treaty has been kept in abeyance in response to Pakistan’s continued support for cross-border terrorism, including the Pahalgam terror attack.
Jaiswal said the treaty would remain in abeyance until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ends its support for cross-border terrorism.
The MEA also criticised Pakistan for what it described as the continued propagation of officially sponsored disinformation, including the use of terms such as “Fitna al-Hindustan.” It said such narratives are aimed at diverting attention from Pakistan’s internal challenges and its well-documented role as a safe haven for global terrorist networks.
India further said Pakistan would better serve its people by dismantling terrorist infrastructure operating from its territory and focusing on addressing its internal issues rather than levelling unfounded allegations against neighbouring countries on international platforms.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar participated in the ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum ministerial meetings held in Manila over the past two days.
-ANI
