Pak terms Modi's remarks on terrorism 'baseless'

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused it of indulging in a proxy war against India, Pakistan hit back on Wednesday, saying the neighbours should not engage in a blame game. Modi's tough talk on Pakistan's proxy war may undermine Nawaz Sharif

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused it of indulging in a proxy war against India, Pakistan hit back on Wednesday, dubbing it as "baseless rhetoric" and saying both countries should focus on resolving issues instead of engaging in blame game.

"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," Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.

"Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to India in May was in this spirit and generated a fresh momentum in the bilateral relationship," she said in a statement.

Prime Minister Modi, in his address to the Indian Army and Air Force troops on his maiden trip to Leh on Tuesday, had said, "It is unfortunate that our neighbour's attitude...they have lost the power to fight a war but they use proxy war. There has been a process of killing innocent people through this proxy war."

Commenting on Prime Minister Modi's address, the foreign office said Pakistan had consistently condemned terrorism.

"With reference to news reports attributed to Prime Minister Modi repeating the baseless rhetoric against Pakistan regarding terrorism, the Spokesperson (Tasnim Khan) recalled that Pakistan has consistently condemned terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations," the foreign office statement said.

"She pointed out that having lost the lives of 55,000 of its citizens as a result of terrorism; Pakistan is the biggest victim of the menace," it said.