File photo courtesy PPP Media Cell
India’s External Affairs Ministry on Friday described as “uncivilized” remarks on Narendra Modi delivered by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari a day earlier during a press conference at the U.N.
“These comments are a new low, even for Pakistan,” read the statement issued by Delhi, which accused Pakistan of mistreating its minorities and lacking the “credentials to cast aspersions” on India. “Pakistan foreign minister’s uncivilized outburst seems to be a result of Pakistan’s increasing inability to use terrorists and their proxies,” it alleged, adding that Pakistan glorified “Osama bin Laden as a martyr”—a reference to then-prime minister Imran Khan describing the Al Qaeda as a “martyr” in the National Assembly—and boasted “126 U.N.-designated terrorists and 27 U.N.-designated terrorists entities.”
The Indian statement concluded by calling on Pakistan to “change its own mindset or remain a pariah.”
A day earlier, addressing a press conference at the U.N., Bhutto-Zardari had responded to comments by India’s external affairs minister in which he had described Pakistan as the “epicenter of terrorism” and accused it of “hosting Osama bin Laden.” Responding to a question, the foreign minister said he wished to remind the Indian official that while Osama bin Laden was dead, “the butcher of Gujarat lives, and he is the prime minister [of India].”
Recalling that Modi had been banned from entering the U.S. prior to becoming India’s prime minister, he added: “These are the prime minister and foreign minister of RSS, which draws inspiration from Hitler’s SS.”
To a question on why the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers were engaged in a war of words, Bhutto-Zardari said: “This is not in a war of words. I have not noticed.” Stressing that he was a victim of terrorism, as his mother—former prime minister Benazir Bhutto—had been killed by terrorists along with thousands of other Pakistanis, he said Pakistan had far more lives to terrorism than India.
Claiming that “India has been playing in the space” that has made it “very easy” to bracket Muslims with terrorism, he maintained that Delhi has “skillfully” blurred the line so the victims are regarded as terrorists. He stressed that India has consistently projected this perception not just for Pakistan, but also Muslims in India.
Terrorism in Pakistan was sponsored from abroad, he said, emphasizing the need to stop terrorist groups from receiving training and financial support from across the border. He said Pakistan was proud of its achievements in the war against terrorism, as the country had taken concrete steps in connection with the National Action Plan for counterterrorism. This, he said, had been endorsed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Floods
Discussing the current situation in flood-hit regions of Pakistan, the foreign minister said some areas of Balochistan and Sindh were still waterlogged, adding that the sectors of health, education and basic infrastructure had been severely impacted. He said international assistance was essential for Pakistan to tackle the rehabilitation and reconstruction process.
To a question on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, he said the party had lost three of the 10 seats of his party during by-elections in the National Assembly. “If my party had lost three of its 10 seats, I would have been very concerned,” he said.