ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday refuted India’s baseless allegations that claimed that it wanted to infiltrate militants along the Line of Control (LoC). “The world is aware of India running a smear campaign against Pakistan, as it had been exposed by the EU DisinfoLab’s report,” stated Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We categorically reject the baseless allegations that Pakistan wanted to infiltrate so-called ‘terrorists’ via the Line of Control," he said. Questioning the truthfulness of the Indian claims, he wondered how Pakistan could infiltrate militants across the LoC when it was one of the most militarised zones in the world, with over 900,000 Indian security personnel posted there. He added that India has installed layered barbed wire fences, security systems and electronic surveillance devices, making it impossible for anything to cross the LoC to enter the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

He said India was stoking the flames of terrorism in Pakistan. "On its part, India has been involved in state-terrorism in IIOJ&K and against Pakistan. From the Samjhauta Express killings of February 2007 to the terrorist blast in Lahore in June 2021, terror incidents targeting Pakistanis have had an Indian hand," the Foreign Office stated.

In 2020, Pakistan provided irrefutable evidence of India’s involvement in terrorism and patronage, the spokesman said. In February this year, Pakistan urged India to abide by the 2003 ceasefire agreement.

The spokesman added that India must not use baseless "infiltration attempts as a handy ploy to find excuses to scuttle the ceasefire understanding". “The consequences of India’s irresponsible behaviour will not be good for peace and security in the region,” the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi condemned bid of demographic changes in IIOJ&K. He said Pakistan always honoured the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions for settlement of issues.

The minister, while addressing a seminar in Multan, stressed upon the need to take more steps to tackle the rising trend of Islamophobia. He said no one should be allowed to hurt the sentiments of nearly two billion Muslims. He also stressed unity among Muslim Ummah to raise collective voice at global level.

Shah Mahmood said peaceful and stable Afghanistan was vital for peace in the region. The minister said Pakistan always stated that there was no military solution to Afghan conflict, and advocated for a political, negotiated settlement among Afghan leadership to resolve the issue of the war-torn country.

He said some elements were playing the role of spoiler to sabotage peace in the region. “We should remain highly vigilant on the elements who want to spoil regional peace,” he said.

The minister remarked that terrorism was a great threat for society. He added that Pakistan’s armed forces and citizens rendered countless sacrifices for global peace. Qureshi said Pakistan was the most affected country from menace of the terrorism which was sponsored by India. He said Pakistan always condemned terrorism whether it was from individuals, groups or states.

The minister said Pakistan actively pursued the National Action Plan (NAP) to get rid of the scourge of terrorism. Similarly, he said, steps were also taken to discourage money laundering. He said implementation of the UNSC resolutions passed over long-standing issues was important for peace in the region and socio-economic uplift of people.