By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday dismissed allegations by India’s External Affairs Ministry regarding a “drone” being spotted over the Indian High Commission in Islamabad as “patently false”. The statement came after the Indian foreign ministry claimed that a drone was sighted over the premises of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on June 26.
“This has been taken up officially with Pakistan. We expect Pakistan to investigate the incident and prevent recurrence of such breach of security,” the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Responding to the claims, FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said: “We have seen the Indian MEA’s statement and reports in certain sections of the Indian media alleging a drone flying over the premises of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.”
He said these “preposterous” claims were contrary to the facts and “no proof whatsoever has been shared with Pakistan to substantiate these allegations.”
Chaudhri pointed out that “this propaganda campaign by India” was happening at a time when evidence gathered in the recent Lahore blast was largely pointing to “external forces with a history of perpetrating state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan”.
“Pakistan rejects these patently false allegations and diversionary Indian tactics and will continue to stand by the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self-determination, as enshrined in the UNSC resolutions.”
Two days ago, the FO had also rejected the Indian allegations about Pakistan’s role in a drone attack in occupied Kashmir and termed them “irresponsible”.
“Pakistan categorically rejects the irresponsible and misleading statement by Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy regarding an alleged drone attack in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” it had said. Reddy had earlier said that Pakistan’s role could not be ruled out in the Jammu Air Force station attack.
“The use of Pakistan card either to win an election or to divert attention from an electoral defeat has also unfortunately become a standard practice,” the FO statement had added.
