NEW DELHI: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again criticised Pakistan on Saturday, accusing it of being an exporter of terrorism, and vowing to mount a global campaign to isolate it.
“We will isolate you. I will work for that,” Modi said in his first speech after the attack on an Indian army base in Indian-held Kashmir last Sunday that killed 18 soldiers.
Modi was giving a speech at a meeting of his Bharatiya Janata Party, whose leaders have said there should be a strong response to the attack, which took place in Uri. “India has and never will bow down in the face of terrorism,” Modi said.
He said that in the last four months, Indian security forces had killed 110 terrorists who allegedly crossed over the cease-fire line in Kashmir from Pakistani territory.
“Terrorist attacks in Bangladesh and Afghanistan were also being instigated from Pakistan.” He also accused Pakistan of trying to destabilise Asia by exporting terrorism.
“People of Pakistan should question their leadership on why, when both countries gained freedom together, while India exports software, Pakistan exports terrorists,” Modi said.
“This is the only country that is exporting terrorism in all corners,” Modi said, without directly naming Pakistan.
“Wherever there is news of terror, there is news that either the terrorist first went to this country or later, after the incident, like Osama Bin Laden,” he said addressing a rally in southern Kerala state.
Modi warned Islamabad that India would continue to push to make Pakistan a pariah state in the eyes of the international community. “We will intensify it (our efforts) and force you to be alone all over the world,” he said.
India has long accused Pakistan of backing militant groups operating in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) as well as of sending fighters to other parts of the country to carry out acts of violence. Pakistan denies the allegations and says India has not provided adequate proof to support its claims.
Some military experts have called for cross border strikes against militant camps in Azad Kashmir in the wake of the latest attack.
But Pakistan has warned it will hit back against any Indian attack and the latest tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours are drawing concern.
India is likely holding back from a major military action for fear of igniting a broader escalation, and may instead mount a diplomatic campaign against Pakistan, experts say.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told the UN General Assembly that Pakistan wanted peace but New Delhi was an obstacle to talks. He had said the other day that lasting peace in the region is impossible without the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue.
Talking to reporters after his arrival from New York, he rejected the Indian allegations on Uri attack as “irresponsible” and “without any evidence”. He said that before accusing Pakistan, India should have looked at its atrocious role in Jammu and Kashmir and mentioned the brutalities being perpetrated against the innocent Kashmiris by the Indian forces in the disputed state.
The premier said the whole world knew about the Indian atrocities in IHK in which around 108 people had been killed, over 150 blinded and thousands injured so far. He said the Uri attack could be a reaction to those atrocities, as the close relatives and near and dear ones of those killed and blinded over the last two months were hurt and outraged. He wondered how India had hurled accusations against Pakistan only hours after the Uri incident without holding any enquiry or investigation.
