ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Office said on Tuesday that Pakistan rejects the Indian allegations regarding the so called “terror boat” from Pakistan, and terms them baseless and preposterous.
The Indian government claimed on Monday that the Pakistani boat which sank in the Arabian Sea in the early hours of January 1 after being intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard had “suspected terror links”.
“I think they were suspected terrorists (the four persons on board the fishing vessel) as they committed suicide. A normal boat carrying drugs would have surrendered. Why would smugglers keep in touch with Pakistan maritime authorities?” the Indian defence minister Manohar Parrikar was quoted as saying on Monday by Times of India.
However, in a response on Tuesday, the Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said that Pakistan is opposed to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and has been the biggest victim of terrorism.
“The people and Government of Pakistan are determined to eradicate this menace from our territory,” the spokesperson said.
The Foreign Office spokesperson said that the brave armed forces of Pakistan are successfully conducting a comprehensive and across the board operation Zarb-e-Azb to root out terrorism.
Tasneem Aslam said that the Indian spokesperson also made equally baseless and malicious allegations regarding the ‘citings’ of Punjabi/Urdu speaking terrorist elements in Afghanistan.
“India is reminded to refrain from attempts to create misunderstanding between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the two brotherly nations bound by common destiny, shared culture, history and religion,” Aslam said.
“These efforts are also in violation of all international norms.”
The spokesperson further said that Pakistan sees the escalation of tension by India on the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary through continuous unprovoked firing and targeting of civilians, as an attempt to distract our armed forces from its valiant mission against all terrorists.
