ISLAMABAD: After a series of terrorist attacks rocked Pakistan in recent days, the Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday reiterated allegation of Indian involvement in attacks in Balochistan.
The statement came at FO Spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal’s weekly briefing, held hours after Thursday morning’s execution-style killing of 14 people, including Pakistan Navy personnel, on the Makran Coastal Highway.
“These terrorist attacks are taking place in the province where we found Kulbhushan Jadhav,” he said referring to the Indian spy sentenced to death for espionage and sabotage activities after his March 2016 arrest in Balochistan’s Mashkel area.
“Pakistan has repeatedly found and shared with the world evidence of India’s sabotage activities and interference in Balochistan. We will unearth the truth this time too and the world shall know,” said Dr Faisal.
The FO statement comes amid a spike in violence in Balochistan over the past week, as at least 22 people were killed and over 50 injured in two separate blasts in Quetta and Chaman on April 12.
It also carries greater significance in the backdrop of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s early April disclosure that India was planning another attack against Pakistan before the month’s end.
“We have reliable intelligence that between April 16 and April 20, India may carry out an attack against Pakistan,” the foreign minister said at a news conference in Multan on April 7.
Elaborating further, he said India could stage a “Pulwama style” attack in Occupied Kashmir to use it as justification for its military adventure against Pakistan.
Qureshi said that he had consulted with Prime Minister Imran Khan and decided to make public the development in order to expose India’s nefarious designs.
Meanwhile, referring to Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir, the FO spokesperson urged the international community to call upon New Delhi to halt its oppression and move towards resolution of the lingering dispute.
Responding to a question about the Kartarpur Corridor, the spokesperson hoped that India would agree to a meeting with Pakistan at the earliest to finalise the draft for operationalisation of the corridor.
To a question about the Afghan peace process, the spokesperson said talks scheduled to be held in Doha from tomorrow is a positive development and Pakistan hopes this will lead to durable peace and stability in Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan has been playing a facilitating role in the Afghan peace process as a shared responsibility.
To a question about Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the spokesperson said Pakistan has taken very effective actions to get itself out of the greylist.
