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Pakistan's Foreign Office has rejected India's condemnation of its recent military strikes along the Afghan border, calling the statement 'preposterous' and 'baseless.' The response comes after India described the strikes as a 'blatant act of aggression' and a 'direct threat' to regional peace.

Coverage Comparison

Both reports from Dawn, the Pakistani English-language daily, focused on Pakistan's rejection of India's criticism, emphasizing Pakistan's right to self-defense and framing India's statement as interference in regional affairs. The coverage highlighted the Foreign Office's defensive tone, using words like 'preposterous,' 'baseless,' and 'inflammatory' to characterize India's accusations.

Key Claims

  • Pakistan's security forces conducted an intelligence-based ground operation along the Pakistan-Afghan border, followed by calibrated strikes against terrorist hideouts, killing 25 terrorists.
  • The strikes were in response to a terrorist attack on a local headquarters of the Pakistan Rangers Sindh in Karachi's Gulistan-i-Jauhar area, where three security personnel were martyred.
  • India's Ministry of External Affairs condemned Pakistan's actions, calling them a 'blatant act of aggression' and a 'direct threat' to regional peace and stability.
  • Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi rejected India's statement, asserting that Pakistan's actions were 'legitimate, targeted and proportionate' against terrorist infrastructure in Afghanistan.
  • Andrabi accused India of 'actively aiding and sponsoring terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil against Pakistan' and of playing the role of a 'regional spoiler.'
  • Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration in Kabul to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, but those appeals have gone unheeded.

Perspectives

Pakistan's Foreign Office

The Foreign Office spokesperson defended the strikes as legitimate and proportionate, dismissed India's statement as 'preposterous' and 'baseless,' and accused India of historical interference and sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan.

India's Ministry of External Affairs

India condemned Pakistan's actions as a 'blatant act of aggression' and a 'direct threat' to regional peace and stability, without providing further details in the reported material.