Sunday, 04 January 2025 | Web Desk

The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday strongly rejected what it termed “irresponsible assertions” made by Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, accusing New Delhi of attempting to divert attention from its own “troubling record as a neighbour that promotes terrorism and contributes to regional instability”.

While the FO statement did not directly reference specific remarks, it followed Indian media reports quoting Jaishankar as saying that India had the right to defend itself against terrorism while alluding to “bad neighbours”.

“You can also have bad neighbours … unfortunately, we do,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying by The Hindu. Referring to Pakistan, he added: “If a country decides that they will deliberately, persistently, unrepentantly continue with terrorism, we have the right to defend our people against terrorism.”

Jaishankar also addressed the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a longstanding source of contention between the two countries, particularly following the April 22 attack on tourists in Pahalgam in occupied Kashmir — an incident India blamed on Pakistan without presenting evidence.

“Many years ago we agreed to a water-sharing arrangement — the belief was it was a gesture of goodwill,” he said. “But if you have decades of terrorism, there is no good neighbourliness, and you don’t get the benefit of good neighbourliness.”

“You can’t say, ‘Please share water with me,’ while continuing terrorism — that’s not reconcilable,” he added.

In response, the Foreign Office said in its statement: “Pakistan firmly rejects the irresponsible assertions made by the Indian external affairs minister. Once again, India seeks to deflect attention from its own troubling record as a neighbour that promotes terrorism and contributes to regional instability.”

The FO further stated that India’s “documented involvement in promoting terrorist activities in the region, particularly in Pakistan, is well known”, citing the case of Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav as a “stark example of organized, state-sponsored terrorism”.

Jadhav was arrested in Balochistan in March 2016 and later confessed to links with India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and involvement in espionage and terrorist activities in Pakistan. He remains imprisoned in the country.

The statement also raised concerns over what it described as “recurring instances of extraterritorial killings, sabotage through proxies, and covert support to terrorist networks”, calling this pattern consistent with “the extremist ideology of Hindutva and its violent proponents”.

On Kashmir, the FO said India continues its “illegal and violent military occupation” of Jammu and Kashmir, reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to providing political, moral, and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination, in line with UN Security Council resolutions.

Addressing the Indus Waters Treaty, the FO emphasized that it is an international agreement concluded in good faith and at significant cost.

“Any unilateral violation of the treaty by India would undermine regional stability and call into question its credibility as a state that claims to respect international legal obligations,” the statement warned, adding that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to protect its rights under the treaty.

The statement comes days after National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Jaishankar briefly shook hands in Dhaka on Wednesday during the funeral of former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia — the first high-level contact between Pakistani and Indian officials since the military confrontation in May 2025.