'Turning Terrorism Into Statecraft...': India Rebuffs OIC, Calls Out Pakistan For 'Baseless' Allegation

MEA's statement rejected Pakistan’s baseless allegation of “unprovoked and unjustified military aggression” and rejected the references to India at the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

Photo Credit: IANS

The Ministry of External Affairs has rejected the "unwarranted and factually incorrect" references to India at the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Slamming Islamabad, the MEA issued a statement and stated that the OIC’s “repeated failure” to acknowledge the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, most recently evidenced by the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, “reflects a wilful disregard for facts and the global consensus on the fight against terrorism.”

It also emphasised, "Statements, driven by Pakistan, which has turned terrorism into statecraft, reflect the continued misuse of the OIC platform for narrow political ends."

OIC's J-K Remarks

“The OIC has no locus standi to comment on India’s internal affairs, including Jammu & Kashmir, which is an integral and sovereign part of India — a fact enshrined in the Indian Constitution and irreversibly settled,” MEA added. 

“The OIC should reflect deeply on the perils of allowing Pakistan’s propaganda to hijack and politicize its agenda. Any other course can only undermine the OIC’s credibility and relevance.

The comments made by Pakistan at the OIC meeting are nothing more than a desperate attempt to deflect international attention from its own appalling record of state-sponsored terrorism, minority persecution and sectarian violence, apart from failure of governance,” the Ministry elaborated. 

MEA On Pakistan

MEA's statement also rejected Pakistan’s baseless allegation of “unprovoked and unjustified military aggression.” 

India’s Operation Sindoor, in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, was a “precise and legitimate act of self-defence against terrorist camps operating from Pakistani territory.” 

"It is absurd for Pakistan to speak of targeting only Indian military installations when its retaliatory attempts not only failed but recklessly endangered civilian lives and property and ended up causing several deaths and injuries among the civilian population," the statement added. 

Pakistan's 'Irony'

MEA also slammed Islamabad, stating, "It is also ironic that Pakistan, a country with an abysmal human rights record and a history of sheltering, breeding and empowering terrorists, should lecture others on counter-terrorism and human rights."

Operation Sindoor

The tensions between India and Pakistan were escalating for a while after the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22. 

Following the attack, while New Delhi took several punitive measures against Islamabad, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). 

After this, Pakistan also launched a series of drone and missile attacks on Indian territory; however, a ceasefire was declared on May 10 after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Indian counterpart.