NEW DELHI: Pakistan needs to take credible action against cross-border terrorism before the world can believe what it says, the ministry of external affairs said on Tuesday, while hitting out at Islamabad over its claims regarding a recent decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal accused Pakistan of “misrepresenting facts” and spreading “falsehoods” as part of its propaganda.“Pakistan has a habit of misrepresenting facts and propagating falsehoods to serve its malicious propaganda,” Jaiswal said.“For starters, the so-called ruling is not a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, as sought to be projected by the Pakistan minister. It is a ruling by an illegally constituted court. We see this as just one more attempt by Pakistan at distorting the reality,” he added.Jaiswal was responding to a question about Pakistan circulating a letter to the president of the UN Security Council regarding recent rulings related to the Permanent Court of Arbitration.His comments also came days after Pakistan increased the reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar.India had last week described Pakistan’s PKR 70 lakh reward for information on Azhar as a “phoney” move and asked Islamabad to take concrete action against the JeM chief.The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed has been linked to several major terror attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack and the attacks in Pathankot and Pulwama.The group was founded by most-wanted terrorist Masood Azhar.New Delhi has repeatedly called on Pakistan to take credible action against crossborder terrorism, saying Islamabad’s actions would be a key test of the credibility of its claims.
India seeks constructive ties with Bangladesh
On India-Bangladesh relations, Jaiswal said New Delhi wants positive and constructive ties with Dhaka.“India seeks positive, constructive and forward-looking ties with Bangladesh,” he said.
275 Indians missing in Nepal
On Indians missing in Nepal floods, Jaiswal said an Indian forensic team was working with Nepalese authorities to identify those still unaccounted for.“As I told you last time, we had given you a figure of 275 Indian nationals who were missing. Over and above that, several other people from the Indian diaspora and persons of Indian origin are also missing,” he said.“We have a forensic team in Nepal that is working in Kathmandu in several laboratories along with their Nepali colleagues,” Jaiswal said.He said the Indian team was working on 3,000 samples and had so far arrived at more than 1,200 DNA profiles.“The work is going on, and regarding the missing Indian nationals and missing persons, we await to hear from the Nepali authorities,” he said.
India reiterates dialogue, diplomacy on Ukraine
On the Ukraine conflict, Jaiswal said external affairs minister S Jaishankar met Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha on Monday and discussed recent developments.“Yes, the external affairs minister met with the Ukrainian foreign minister yesterday. During the meeting, he discussed the recent developments in the conflict,” Jaiswal said.
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Jaishankar reiterated India’s position that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward for a peaceful resolution.“The external affairs minister once again put forth India’s point that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward for a peaceful resolution,” Jaiswal said.“India, as you know, is in touch with both sides, Ukraine and Russia, and we have told them that if there is any way that India can contribute, India is ready to do so,” he added.
