ICC promptly diverts Champions Trophy tour away from PoK cities after BCCI’s objections
The original tour schedule included cities like Skardu, Hunza and Muzaffarabad, which fall in the PoK region, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan.
New Delhi on Monday accused Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan of making anti-India statements and trying to ‘mainstream terrorist organisations’ with a view to deflecting attention from the financial woes of his country.
At a media briefing here, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said there was no seriousness in Khan’s statement that India was not ready for talks with Pakistan. ”His statement has to be backed by action,” he added.
In this connection, the spokesperson spoke about several developments over the last six months since Khan became the Prime Minister which clearly suggested that he was turning a blind eye to India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism.
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He pointed out that a senior minister in the Pakistan Government had shared the stage with JuD chief and Mumbai attack plotter Hafiz Saeed on September 30, last year at a rally at which vitriolic anti-India statements were openly made. He also asked what has Pakistan done to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks. ”If they (Pakistan) are serious about dealing with terrorism, why are they allowing terrorists to misuse their territories to target not only India but other countries as well?” he asked.
New Delhi also drew attention to the fact that the JuD, which was behind the Mumbai attack, was no longer a terrorist organisation in Pakistan since the ordinance which proscribed the terror outfit had lapsed.
”This clearly shows that Pakistan’s explicit support to terrorist organisations is still continuing and there is no change in the situation,” the spokesperson added.
He also lashed out at Khan for his remarks over the treatment of minorities in India saying, ”Pakistan should be the last country to lecture us on plurality and inclusive society. The whole world was aware of the condition of the minorities in the neighbouring country.”
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