India Rejects Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister's Comments at ASEAN Regional Forum

India has categorically rejected comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of Pakistan at 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum as baseless and unwarranted. In response to media queries regarding the comments, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said it is no surprise that a multilateral forum has once again been cynically exploited by Pakistan to amplify falsehoods, peddle state-sponsored disinformation, and divert attention from its own well-documented record of sponsoring cross-border terrorism. He stressed that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India. He said Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on the same.Mr Jaiswal stated that India’s position on the Indus Waters Treaty remains consistent. He said the Treaty stands in abeyance in response to Pakistan’s continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism, including the Pahalgam attack. He said IWT will continue to be held in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.New Delhi has condemned Pakistan’s continued practice of propagating officially sponsored disinformation, often dressed in religious terminology such as the use of terms like ‘Fitna al-Hindustan’. The spokesperson said this is a futile attempt by the Pakistani establishment to deflect attention from its own internal crises and its well-proven role as a safe haven for global terrorist networks. He said that instead of pointing fingers at its neighbours and misusing international platforms, Pakistan should dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil and put its own house in order.