India on Thursday hit back at Pakistan, saying the developments in Jammu and Kashmir did not provide an opportunity for intervention.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the confession by the captured Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Bahadur Ali proved that the Pakistan-based terror outfit was responsible for fanning trouble in the Kashmir valley.
“Pakistan has no locus standi in addressing any aspect of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is an internal matter of India, except to put an end to all cross-border terrorism, infiltration and support to terrorism and violence against India,” said MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup.
He said India was in touch with important interlocutors to convey the correct picture in the Kashmir Valley and Pakistan’s campaign to internationalise the issue would not have any effect.
Hinting at the letters that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has written to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, Mr. Swarup said: “Let me also say it does not matter how many letters are written, it will not whitewash cross-border terrorism.”
“Bahadur Ali’s confession has clearly revealed the details of the kind of training that is provided and most importantly, the indoctrination that they [the militants] undergo prior to infiltration into India. His confession proves that the Lashkar-e-Taiba is sending its cadre in connivance with Pakistani security forces, to fuel large-scale agitation in Kashmir. We have already taken up the matter with Pakistan, including our offer to provide consular access to this Pakistani terrorist,” he said.
Consular access
The Ministry has reiterated the demand for consular access to Indian national Hamid Ansari who was recently attacked in a jail in Peshawar. To intensify the campaign to release Mr. Ansari, his parents travelled on Thursday from Mumbai to Delhi to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, alongside representatives of the Indian chapter of the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum.
