The FO does not agree with India’s “frustrated” assessment of Bilawal’s statements.
The comment has been interpreted by Islamabad as “a reflection of India’s mounting dissatisfaction.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan criticised the statement made by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs regarding Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s remark that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “the butcher of Gujarat” on Saturday, claiming that it was a “reflection of India’s growing frustration.”
In a statement to the media, spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch claimed that the Indian government had attempted to hide behind deception and canard in order to obscure the truth of the 2002 Gujarat tragedy.
As the Indian government harshly criticised Bilawal’s words, the rejection came. The External Affairs Ministry allegedly stated that Pakistan “lacked the qualifications to throw aspersions against India,” according to the Indian media.
In the meantime, angry BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) supporters across India began a widespread protest against FM Bilawal. In response to the Indian minister’s remark, protesters flocked to the streets and burned effigies of Pakistan’s top diplomat.
“It is a horrific tale of rape, lynching, and mass murder. The truth is that the perpetrators of the Gujarat massacre have eluded capture and are currently in charge of important government agencies in India, the FO spokeswoman continued.
Modi gained the moniker “Butcher of Gujarat” in 2002, when he was the state’s chief minister, and Bilawal referred to him as such. India was horrified by Bilawal’s criticism of Modi, which led the BJP to call for a national protest.
“I would like to remind the Indian Minister of External Affairs that although Osama Bin Laden is no longer alive, the Butcher of Gujarat is still in power in India. After India’s foreign minister S. Jaishankar accused Pakistan of being the “epicentre of terrorism” for “harbouring Osama bin Laden,” Bilawal claimed that he had been barred from entering the nation until he was elected prime minister.
The RSS’s foreign minister and prime minister are shown here. How does RSS work? During the verbal brawl, he said, “Hitler’s SS served as the RSS’s model.
“Reflection of increasing annoyance”
The FO official continued, “India’s rising annoyance over its failure to demonise and isolate Pakistan is reflected in this statement as well.
She added after being unable to block Pakistan’s removal from the FATF grey list in October and the international acknowledgement of Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts, India is urgently exploiting international venues to further its goal to malign and target Pakistan.
The spokesperson claimed that with its statement, the Indian government is trying to “cover behind subterfuge and canard to disguise the truth of the 2002 Gujarat massacre”, which she called a horrific tragedy of mass killings, lynching, rape, and plunder.
Furthermore, according to Baloch, the “masterminds” of the Gujarat massacre have evaded prosecution and are currently in charge of important government agencies in India.
She added no “verbosity can mask the crimes of the ‘Saffron terrorists’ in India”. Hindutva, the political philosophy of the governing party, has fostered an atmosphere of hostility, division, and lawlessness.
The spokesperson added that India’s Hindutva-driven polity today has a pervasive culture of impunity. The murder of justice under the RSS-BJP regime is demonstrated by the acquittal of the perpetrators of the barbaric attack on the Delhi-Lahore Samjhota Express, which resulted in the deaths of 40 Pakistani citizens on Indian territory.
In states all over India, intimidation and demonization of religious minorities are encouraged by the government.
She continued by saying that Hindutva supremacists have been let loose to engage in cow vigilantism, vandalise houses of worship, and assault religious gatherings.
In addition, Baloch claimed that while India promotes a false narrative of victims, it actively engages in repression in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and supports and finances terrorist organisations throughout South Asia.
She mentioned that this week saw the publication of a report that provided indisputable proof of India’s involvement in the 2021 terrorist assault in a quiet Lahore neighbourhood. Evidence acquired with assistance from other nations shows that the Lahore attack was organised, planned, and funded by the Indian government.
A grandiose image of itself and its place in the world, the spokesperson claimed, “India is implementing a policy of pettiness towards its neighbours.”
The spokesperson continued by saying that Pakistan is convinced that the world will see through this façade and that the RSS-goal BJP’s of reshaping South Asia in its image would not come to pass.
Following Bilawal’s scathing rebuttal to India’s renewed use of the word “terror” against Pakistan outside of a UN Security Council emergency meeting in New York, India made its statement.
In addition, Bilawal emphasised the “saffron terror” of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a paramilitary organisation of Hindu supremacist volunteers who served as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ideological inspiration.
A spokeswoman for the Indian foreign ministry was offended by Bilawal’s criticism and quipped that “Made in Pakistan’ terrorism had to stop,” calling it a “new low even for Pakistan.” The Pakistani foreign minister’s “shameful and offensive” statement would be the target of a statewide protest on Saturday, according to the BJP.
