Islamabad, February 26 The Foreign Office on Thursday rejected India's remarks condemning the Pakistani military's airstrikes in Afghanistan, which resulted in civilian casualties.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Sunday described the strikes as another attempt by Pakistan to "externalize its internal failures," and reiterated India's support for Afghanistan's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence.
"India strongly condemns Pakistan's airstrikes on Afghan territory that have resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children, during the holy month of Ramadan," Jaiswal said.
Addressing his weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that the airstrikes were carried out to target at least seven militant hideouts in Afghanistan in retaliation for recent rebel attacks in the country.
"We completely reject India's statement," he said.
He alleged that India was "involved in supporting terrorist activities against Pakistan." However, he did not provide any evidence to support his claims.
He said that India made statements after the terror attacks in Balochistan. "These statements provide additional evidence, circumstantial evidence, of India's complicity in promoting terrorism in Pakistan," he alleged.
In response to a question, the spokesperson said that Pakistan's strikes in neighboring Afghanistan were carried out to ensure the "safety of Pakistani citizens" and to prevent "imminent terrorist attacks."
He said that the Pakistani military will respond swiftly and strongly in the exercise of the right to self-defense to any attack by the Afghan side.
He said that Pakistan was not currently involved in any structured dialogue with the Afghan Taliban.
