Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday strongly rejected Pakistan’s statement backing a banned terrorist organisation, asserting that Islamabad has “no locus standi” to comment on the country’s internal matters. He urged it to ‘introspect on the systematic human rights violations” it continues to perpetrate instead of “peddling lies and frivolous narratives.“Responding to media queries, ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We categorically reject the statement issued by Pakistan in support of a banned terrorist organization and its members. Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on matters internal to India or its judicial processes.”He added that such remarks were not surprising given Pakistan’s record. “However, one is not surprised that a country, which has long been sponsoring terrorism, has come up with such a statement condoning violence and killing of innocent people,” Jaiswal said.“Instead of peddling lies and frivolous narratives, Pakistan should introspect on the grave and systematic human rights violations it continues to perpetrate,” he added.The response came after Pakistan issued a statement on judicial proceedings in India related to a banned terror outfit. On Tuesday, a Delhi court sentenced Kashmiri separatist and Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi to life imprisonment in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Her two associates, Fehmeeda and Nasreen, were also awarded 30-year prison terms in the same case.In a statement posted on X, Pakistan’s foreign ministry described the verdict as a “grave miscarriage of justice” and claimed it reflected the “continuing suppression of fundamental rights” in Jammu and Kashmir.However, in its detailed 286-page order, the court held that Andrabi and her associates had “hatched a conspiracy for the secession of Kashmir from India.”The court relied on videos and social media posts submitted by the National Investigation Agency, which showed the accused repeatedly claiming that Kashmir belonged to “Pakistan and was under Indian occupation.”“Kashmir should be freed from Indian occupation so that it can become part of Pakistan. The material on record is rife with such speeches as well as various posts by all the accused, especially of accused 1 (Andrabi),” the court order stated.The court observed that Andrabi, through speeches and interviews, openly sought Pakistan’s support and propagated that “Kashmir was never a part of India.”India has consistently maintained that matters related to its internal security and judicial actions are sovereign issues, and has repeatedly called on Pakistan to end support for terrorism and cross-border activities.Also read: ‘Hatched conspiracy to secede Kashmir from India’: Why J&K separatist Asiya Andrabi got life term in UAPA case
