India on Thursday claimed that it has ‘information’ that Pakistan is trying to infiltrate militants into the country to carry out attacks amid rising tensions over New Delhi’s decision to abrogate the autonomy of Indian-occupied Kashmir.
Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Raveesh Kumar told reporters that Indian security forces were prepared to deal with any eventuality.
He was reacting to Indian media reports that cited unidentified Indian intelligence sources as claiming that Pakistan-trained commandos have allegedly entered Indian waters to attack port facilities in western Gujarat state.
He said Pakistan is trying to infiltrate terrorists to create ‘an alarmist situation’ after New Delhi imposed a lockdown and ended occupied Kashmir’s autonomy early this month.
Rejecting the Indian claim, Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said that Pakistan was a responsible state and “we would be insane to allow infiltration” across the Line of Control.
Kumar said Pakistan “has been using terror and cross-border terrorism as a policy. We have continued to highlight that Pakistan has an obligation to take action against terrorist and terror groups operating from its soil.”
The Indian claim comes as Prime Minister Imran Khan in recent days repeatedly alerted the international community that India will possibly stage a “false-flag operation” to “divert attention from massive human rights violations” in occupied Kashmir.
India accuses Pakistan of training and arming insurgent groups that have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir’s independence from India or its merger with Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denies. Pakistan says it only provides moral and diplomatic support to these groups.
