India Slams Pakistan Defence Minister, Calls Remarks ‘Desperate Diversion’ Amid PoK Unrest

India on Tuesday launched a scathing counter-attack against Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif following his recent provocative military threats, characterising the remarks as a frantic bid by Islamabad to obscure its dismal domestic record and egregious human rights violations.

New Delhi concurrently cast a sharp spotlight on Islamabad's ruthless suppression of widespread anti-establishment demonstrations sweeping through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Responding to the hostile posturing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the provocative rhetoric during a press briefing.

Dismantling Islamabad's narrative further, the spokesperson pointed out that the volatile situation in the occupied territory stems directly from decades of systemic state-sponsored subjugation by Pakistan.

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"The ongoing developments in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are a direct consequence of Pakistan's decades-long policy of systematic economic exploitation, denial of fundamental rights, and administrative oppression in areas under its illegal and forcible occupation," Jaiswal said.

“The Pakistani state has responded with extreme police brutality, including the blocking of essential supplies and medicines, internet blackouts, and the use of lethal force against unarmed civilians," he added.

The MEA spokesperson further urged global powers to intervene and penalise Islamabad for its heavy-handed clampdown on the aggrieved civilian population in PoK.

"As you know, several people have lost their lives as a result. We hope that the international community will hold Pakistan accountable for its actions, misdeeds, and human rights abuses," Jaiswal stated.

The diplomatic retaliation from New Delhi followed three days after Asif issued a belligerent warning that Islamabad would not hesitate to initiate a military conflict if it perceived India's management of the Indus River system as a threat to its domestic water security.

While speaking to a Pakistani news channel on Saturday, Asif remarked, "The moment we feel that our national security, and water is part of our national security, is being threatened, we will go to war against India. Definitely."

The bellicose rhetoric from the Pakistani political establishment is part of a coordinated campaign by both state authorities and shadow non-state actors targeting India.

This escalatory posturing intensified after New Delhi placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following a deadly cross-border terrorist strike in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam last year.

India has firmly maintained that the water pact will remain suspended until Islamabad demonstrates verifiable action to dismantle the state-sponsored infrastructure of cross-border terrorism operating from its soil.

(With inputs from ANI)