Islamabad, Jan 18: Pakistan today rejected Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao’s assertion that Islamabad has been using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and said it was committed to ensuring peace and prosperity in the region.
Reacting to Rao’s comments during a television interview broadcast yesterday, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said: “Pakistan firmly rejects the assertions of state-sponsored terrorism and invites India to a deep introspection of its own policies and conduct, notably in Jammu and Kashmir, as elsewhere.”
Pakistan is “committed to a vision for peace and prosperity for our region based on a cooperative endeavour of all states in the region,” he said.
Basit claimed India “sadly remains out of tune with the realities of today.”
Rao’s “vitriolic remarks against Pakistan yet again reveal that the Indian government persists in its propaganda campaign that only vitiates the atmosphere, darkens the horizon and dampens hopes for peace and tranquillity in South Asia,” Basit said.
In the interview, Rao said agencies within Pakistan had been backing and supporting militants, including those operating in Jammu and Kashmir, as an instrument of state policy. PTI

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