India and Pakistan foreign ministers trade heated “terrorism’”
Pakistani minister calls India’s Modi the ‘butcher of Gujarat’ after his counterpart accuses Pakistan of being an ‘epicentre of terrorism’.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of harbouring armed fighters who launch attacks on its soil, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 175 people dead, including nine attackers.
The Mumbai attackers were allegedly members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba armed group. Indian investigators say their actions were directed over the phone by handlers in Pakistan.
When Bhutto-Zardari was asked to respond to Jaishankar’s allegation, he said the Indians continue to say “Muslim and terrorist together”, whether in Pakistan or in India.
Pakistan's foreign minister's unexpected reaction to the Indian External Affairs minister's remarks
“I want to tell India that Osama bin Laden has been killed while the butcher of Gujarat is still alive & he is the PM of India"Says Foreign Minister of Pakistan @BBhuttoZardari pic.twitter.com/HBmhCNN9yO
— Ghulam Abbas Shah (@ghulamabbasshah) December 15, 2022
Arindam Bagchi, spokesman for India’s foreign ministry, called Pakistan minister’s remarks a “new low”.
Our response to media queries regarding Pakistan Foreign Minister’s uncivilised remarks:https://t.co/0MAAaURtr6 pic.twitter.com/Z0nldJxNJ5
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) December 16, 2022
“The Foreign Minister of Pakistan has obviously forgotten this day in 1971, which was a direct result of the genocide unleashed by Pakistani rulers against ethnic Bengalis and Hindus. Unfortunately, Pakistan does not seem to have changed much in the treatment of its minorities. It certainly lacks credentials to cast aspersions at India,” said the statement, referring to Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan.
The statement said Bhutto-Zardari’s “uncivilised outburst seems to be a result of Pakistan’s increasing inability to use terrorists and their proxies”.
“Pakistan FM’s frustration would be better directed towards the masterminds of terrorist enterprises in his own country, who have made terrorism a part of their state policy. Pakistan needs to change its own mindset or remain a pariah,” it said.
