Daily Times

From the prime minister to the chief of army staff, the Indian side continues to speak lie after lie only to play to their domestic gallery. The cheer they receive for their jingoistic statements from fanatics may be short-lived but their impact will damage their own Indian society in the long run. After failing to harm Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force, India is back to repeating its false claim that it has targeted alleged terror camps in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) has issued an open challenge to the Indian army to share locations of the targeted camps in AJK. Earlier, Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal also said they have yet to receive a response from the Indian high commission in Islamabad to a generous offer by the ISPR to take any foreign diplomat or media and prove the presence of terrorist camps in AJK as claimed by the Indian army chief.

The silence of Indian diplomats speaks volumes. “It indicates that they have no grounds to support [the] false claim by their COAS. We expect them to respond soon,” the FO spokesperson wrote. Now, the ISPR is taking foreign diplomats and media to those given locations. “Let all see facts on ground,” the army’s media wing said. The visit, in fact, revealed Indians’ violation of ceasefire along the Line of Control. As per a Foreign Office statement, India breached ceasefire 20,000 times in the last three years alone. On October 20, it resorted to heavy, unprovoked gunfire where six civilians and a Pakistan Army jawan embraced martyrdom in AJK. Pakistan army responded to artillery fire in a befitting manner across the Line of Control and killed nine soldiers.

The world should take note of Indian claims and Pakistan’s offer to ascertain the facts. In fact, Indian actions and behaviour need a thorough examination since the Pulwama attack. It has tried to breach in vain the airspace of Pakistan, and withdrew the autonomous status of the Kashmiris in held Kashmir in August last. Since then, it put the entire region in lockdown despite international outcry against the violation of basic human rights of Kashmiris. Now, when the world’s focus is turning to the more than two months long lockdown of India-held Kashmir, the Delhi government is trying change its focus by playing the ‘terror’ card against Pakistan. ISPR has rightly debunked Indian lies by taking the foreign diplomats to the LoC. *