Post-proxy war comment, India, Pakistan engaged in war of words

Pakistani Foreign Office terms Modi's 'proxy war' remark as 'baseless rhetoric'

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused Pakistan of waging a proxy war on India, a war of words of sorts seems to have erupted once again between both sides even as foreign secretaries of both countries will be meeting in Islamabad on August 25.

"Terrorism for us is a real and present danger. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) was articulating our core concerns. These concerns stem from the fact that some of the worst terrorists attacks are either taking place from Pakistan or are Pakistan controlled," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said here today recalling the Parliament Attack of 2001 and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Akbaruddin, however, said that the foreign secretaries are meeting as has been planned and there have been no changes to the meeting.

"The meeting will carry on in the context of the directives provided by both the Prime Ministers (of India and Pakistan," he added.

Earlier in the day, denying Modi's 'proxy war' statement, Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said it was 'baseless rhetoric'.

She also pointed out to the killing of 55,000 Pakistani citizens as a result of terrorism.

"Our Armed Forces remain ready to defend the country's borders and thwart any threat of aggression. The press reports of Indian accusations, at the highest political level, are most unfortunate, especially as the leadership of Pakistan wishes to establish good neighbourly relations with India," she said.

She said both neighbours should focus resolving the outstanding issues through diplomatic channels rather than getting engaged in a 'blame game'.

On Tuesday during a visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Modi said, "The neighbouring country has lost the strength to fight a conventional war but continues to engage in the proxy war of terrorism."

This was for the first time after becoming PM, Modi accused Pakistan of carrying out a proxy war against India.

Meanwhile, a JD(U) member in Rajya Sabha today questioned government's decision to hold foreign secretary level talks with Pakistan asking what is its policy framework of dealing with that country in the face of "incessant ceasefire violations.?

During a telephonic conversation last month, foreign secretary Sujatha Singh had strongly raised the issues of ceasefire violations with her Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry.