Pak rejects India's assertions over UN report

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Monday rejected what it called India’s “malicious assertions” based on a complete distortion of facts, days after New Delhi said a recent UN report about Pakistan-based terror groups sending thousands of terrorists to Afghanistan is a reiteration of what Prime Minister Imran Khan publicly admitted.

The UN report said that around 6,500 Pakistani nationals were among foreign terrorists operating in Afghanistan and that Pakistan-based terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba are engaged in trafficking fighters into that country.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on Friday that the international community is well acquainted with the reality that Pakistan is the “nerve centre of terrorism.”

On Monday, the Foreign Office said in a statement that even the remarks of Prime Minister Khan were completely twisted by India.

“This mischievous attempt is highly condemnable,” it said. It claimed that the Ministry of External Affairs’ comments are a continuation of their campaign to divert international attention from Kashmir.

“Pakistan has been the principal victim of terrorism, including terrorism perpetrated against our people from across the border,” it said.

“It is India that is seeking to distort and misrepresent the report of the UN Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team to promote its anti-Pakistan propaganda. We are sure that the world community will not be misled,” the FO claimed.

Pakistan’s role as a facilitator to the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan has been widely acknowledged by the relevant international partners, it said.

“We wish to reiterate that all relevant partner countries must guard against such attempts while supporting the process for an inclusive and comprehensive political settlement in Afghanistan,” it added.