MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar rebuked Pakistan for making ‘irresponsible statements’ on Kashmir following the government’s decision to dilute Article 370 and revoking special status to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5. (File) MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar rebuked Pakistan for making ‘irresponsible statements’ on Kashmir following the government’s decision to dilute Article 370 and revoking special status to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5. (File)

Condemning the recent remarks made by Pakistani leadership on India’s internal matters, the Ministry of External Affairs Thursday said ‘the provocative statements include call for jihad and inciting violence in India’.

Addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar was referring to remarks made by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan as well as by some ministers in his cabinet after India’s decision to end special status to Jammu and Kashmir and split it into two union territories. “These are very irresponsible statements. It’s time for Pakistan to behave like a normal neighbour,” said Kumar to mediapersons.

Khan has been consistently attacking India on its decisions on Jammu and Kashmir in the last three weeks. On Monday, Khan said he will raise the issue at every international forum, including at the UN General Assembly.

India has not been engaging with Pakistan since an attack on the Air Force base at Pathankot in January of 2016 by Pakistan-based terrorists while maintaining that talks and terror cannot go together.

On reports of the likelihood of Pakistani marine commandos infiltrating Gulf of Kutch, Kumar said India is aware of intelligence reports and demands that Pakistan takes action against terror organisations emanating from their soil as it is their obligation to fulfill. “Pakistan used cross-border terrorism as state policy for years now. We have reports that they are trying to infiltrate and we demand that terror organisations should be acted upon. Pakistan has an obligation to fulfill to take action against terror groups emanating from its soil,” he said.

The MEA also sought to assuage concerns about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and blamed Pakistan for projecting an alarmist situation. “Pakistan is presenting a wrong picture of the J&K situation. They are trying to project an alarmist situation and attempting to incite violence. We don’t want to give credence to Pakistan’s letter to the UN. It’s not worth paper it’s written on,” emphasized Kumar.

Pakistan on Thursday said the resolution of the Kashmir issue as per the UN resolutions was its top foreign policy agenda. Their Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal, during a weekly media briefing, said Pakistan has always supported bilateral talks with India, but the Indian leadership was not ready for it. “Resolution of Kashmir according to UN resolutions is cornerstone of our foreign policy,” Faisal was quoted as saying by PTI.

On several occasions, Pakistan has attempted to internationalise the Kashmir issue after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated it into two union territories. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.

In fact, earlier this month, on the request of Pakistan’s all-weather ally China, the UNSC held a closed-door meeting on the Kashmir issue, where majority of the member countries were of the view that the issue should be resolved bilaterally.

(With inputs from PTI)

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.