The Foreign Office on Tuesday condemned the recent remarks towards Pakistan by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a speech in Gujarat, calling it a “reckless provocation”.
The developments follow a recent military confrontation between India and Pakistan over New Delhi’s allegations against Islamabad, without evidence, about a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
On the night of May 6-7, New Delhi launched a series of air strikes in Pakistan, resulting in civilian casualties. Islamabad responded by downing five Indian jets. After intercepting drones sent by India and tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally drop their guns as a ceasefire was reached.
In a video shared by Indian news outlet ANI, Modi says: “The people of Pakistan must come forward to rid their country of terrorism. Their youth will have to come forward.”
He went on to say: “Live a life of peace, eat your bread or [choose my] bullet,” to applause from the crowd, with many adorned in orange and white outfits.
A statement by the FO early on Tuesday said Pakistan has taken note of Modi’s remarks “delivered in Gujarat with the theatrical flourish of a campaign rally rather than the sobriety expected of the leader of a nuclear-armed state.
“The hate-driven invocation of violence in his remarks is deeply disturbing, not only for its content but for the dangerous precedent it sets in region already burdened by volatility,” the FO said.
“We regret the continued erosion of maturity and decorum in Indian statecraft.”
The FO noted that such statement “blatantly violate” the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter, which obliges member states to resolve disputes peacefully and to refrain from the threat or use of force against the sovereignty or political independence of other states.
“Pakistan views these remarks as a reckless provocation, intended to distract from the ongoing human rights abuses and demographic engineering in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir.
“Pakistan’s record as a leading contributor to UN peacekeeping and its consistent cooperation in global counter-terrorism efforts speak louder than any hostile soundbite.
“If extremism is indeed a concern for the Indian government, it would do well to turn inward-toward the alarming rise of majoritarianism, religious intolerance, and the systematic disenfranchisement of minorities under the increasingly brutal Hindutva ideology,” the FO said.
It added that Pakistan remains committed to peace based on mutual respect and sovereign equality.
“However, any threat to its security or territorial integrity will be met with firm and proportionate measures, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.
“The international community must take serious note of India’s escalating rhetoric, which undermines regional stability and the prospects for lasting peace.”
