Pakistan criticises S Jaishankar’s remarks against its military
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi on Saturday, Jaishankar said most of India’s problems stem from the Pakistani army and even touched on its support for terror groups.
Just as there are good terrorists and bad terrorists, there are also good military leaders and apparently not so good ones, he said, and this was seen as a reference to Army Chief Marshal Asim Munir.
In response to media questions on Jaishankar’s comments, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said, “Pakistan categorically rejects and condemns the highly provocative, unfounded and irresponsible comments made by the Indian Foreign Minister.” he said.
Andrabi said Pakistan was a “responsible” state and all its institutions, including the armed forces, were “pillars of national security”.
The spokesman said the conflict in May demonstrated Pakistani forces’ determination to defend the country “in an appropriate, effective and responsible manner” against any attack.
He criticized “attempts” to denigrate Pakistan’s state institutions and leaders as part of a “propaganda campaign”. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting the terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
The strikes triggered four days of intense fighting and ended on 10 May with an agreement to cease military operations.
At least a dozen Pakistani military aircraft, including US F-16 jets, were destroyed or damaged in Indian strikes, according to Air Chief Marshal AP Singh.
