India blasts Pakistan for raising J&K, Indus issues at Asean meet

NEW DELHI: India slammed Pakistan for raising issues related to J&K and the Indus Waters Treaty at the Asean Regional Forum, saying the remarks by Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar were baseless and unwarranted.The govt said in a statement it was no surprise that a multilateral forum had once again been cynically exploited by Pakistan to amplify falsehoods, peddle state-sponsored disinformation, and divert attention from its own well-documented record of sponsoring cross-border terrorism.External affairs minister S Jaishankar had said at the same forum that acts of terrorism will have consequences. “UT of J&K and Ladakh have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India. Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on the same,” MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said.The govt said India’s position on Indus Waters Treaty remained consistent. “IWT stands in abeyance in response to Pakistan’s continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism, including the Pahalgam attack. IWT will continue to be held in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism,” the official said. The govt strongly condemned Pakistan’s continued practice of propagating officially sponsored disinformation, often dressed in religious terminology such as the use of terms like ‘Fitna al-Hindustan’.”This is a futile attempt by the Pakistani establishment to deflect attention from its own internal crises and its well-proven role as a safe haven for global terrorist networks. Instead of pointing fingers at its neighbours and misusing international platforms, Pakistan would serve itself and its people far better by dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil and putting its own house in order,” the official said.