File photo of Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan. (AFP)

NEW DELHI: The government hit out at Islamabad on Thursday over calls for jihad and hostile statements from Pakistani PM Imran Khan and other top leaders on the Kashmir issue and said these were tantamount to interference in India's domestic affairs. It again called upon Islamabad to stop using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

“We strongly condemn highly irresponsible statements by Pakistani leadership on matters internal to India," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said while responding to queries from journalists.

“These statements include references to jihad and to incite violence in India, this is intended to project an alarmist situation which is far from ground reality. Pakistan needs to understand that the world has seen through their provocative rhetoric based on lies and deceit," he added.

The official urged Pakistan to behave like a normal country by not sending terrorists to its neighbours. He also dismissed the letter written by Pakistani minister Shireen Mazari to the UN on alleged human rights violation by India in J&K as “not worth the paper it was written on”.

“They should see what is happening in their house before making statements and everybody knows what is happening, their house is on fire," Kumar said.

“We are all aware Pakistan has been using cross-border terrorism as an instrument of its state policy. We have been continuing to highlight our concerns with them. Pakistan has an obligation to take action against terrorists and terror groups operating from its soil," he added.

Asked about intelligence inputs of a possible infiltration by terrorists through the sea route, Kumar confirmed that there were such inputs and said the security forces were prepared to "deal with any eventuality".

Referring to the J&K governor's statement on Wednesday, Kumar listed several steps to be taken by the administration such as filling 50,000 vacancies in government departments, minimum support price for the apple crop and Nafed committing Rs 5,000 crore to procure apples produced by the state.

He also dismissed reports that there was shortage of essential drugs in J&K.

“The local government is handling the situation with maturity and restraint. Not a single life has been lost, not a single live bullet has been fired. The administration is putting all the necessary resources so that normalcy returns to the state as soon as possible," Kumar said.

On reports of Pakistan closing its airspace, he said there was no official statement from Pakistan confirming that it had closed the airspace. “What we understand is that there was a notice to airmen which was issued for diversion of certain sectors or certain routes temporarily, reasons for which Pakistan has to share," he said.

