Today’s India has the capability to take decisive action against terrorists, and Pakistan realizes that, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi on Friday. His message on cross-border terrorism was loud and clear. So much so that less than 24 hours after Singh spoke from News18’s platform, Pakistan couldn’t help but take note of his hard-hitting interview that hogged headlines at home and, clearly, sent ripples across the border.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it “denounces the provocative remarks made by the Indian Defence Minister" and asked “the international community" to intervene, in a response that is reminiscent of similar attempts in the past when Islamabad has tried to sweep its support for terrorists under the carpet and unsuccessfully pleaded before global powers to rebuke New Delhi for a host of issues.
Pakistan also used the opportunity to bring under the spotlight what it called “irrefutable evidence, elucidating India’s campaign of extrajudicial and transnational assassinations on Pakistani soil" — malicious claims that have been reiterated in the wake of a British media report that linked Indian intelligence to the assassinations of terrorists and extremists on Pakistani soul. Indian officials have described the report as “false and fabricated".
Next, the Pakistani statement ventured into what could be described as the territory of a fiction, calling out “India’s assertion of its preparedness to extra-judicially execute more civilians, arbitrarily pronounced as “terrorists"‘ — another attempt at intentionally twisting New Delhi’s stand. For bringing in civilians in this narrative reeks of malevolence and dirty tricks on Pakistan’s part.
“Pakistan has always demonstrated its commitment to peace in the region. However, our desire for peace should not be misconstrued. History attests to Pakistan’s firm resolve and ability to protect and defend itself," its foreign office said in the statement. It’s a bit rich coming from the hawks in Islamabad who are locked in a bloody border conflict with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, for whom they had once laid out the red carpet. There has been unease in ties between Iran and Pakistan as well, with both conducting strikes in the other’s territory targeting insurgents.
In this context, Pakistan’s statement should be seen as nothing but a desperate attempt at playing the victim card to gain sympathy at a time when the country is plagued by multiple challenges from extremism to a sluggish economy.
While speaking to News18, Singh rightly underscored the resolve of a new India that is firm and decisive after suffering for decades from terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil.
“If he [terrorist] flees to Pakistan, we will follow him and take him down on Pakistani soil. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken the truth…India has the capability and Pakistan has also started understanding that," Singh said, asserting that those trying to foment trouble in India will get a befitting reply.
Singh stressed that New Delhi wants to maintain cordial relations with its neighbors, underlining that India has never been the aggressor.
Singh was responding to a question on The Guardian article that claimed Indian intelligence officials orchestrated the killing of individuals in Pakistan as part of a bid to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil. Singh did not specifically comment on the veracity of the report; he underlined India’s larger stand in relation to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.
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