The government of Pakistan on Wednesday hit out at India's junior Home Minister Gangapuram Kishan Reddy for suspecting Islamabad of involvement in a recent drone attack on an Indian Air Force (IAF) base.
Pakistan's Foreign Office described the allegation as a "familiar ploy" to divert attention from New Delhi’s "crimes" in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan categorically rejects the irresponsible & misleading statement by Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy regarding an alleged drone attack in #IIOJK. 1/3
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) June 30, 2021
“Pakistan calls upon India to refrain from its reprehensible propaganda campaign as no amount of Indian falsehoods can succeed in diverting attention from India’s serious crimes in Jammu and Kashmir”, said Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri.
Reddy, who is the minister of state (MoS) for home affairs in the Narendra Modi government, said on Tuesday that “one cannot deny the role of Pakistan” in the attack on the IAF base in Jammu on 27 June.
"Pakistan is dropping AK-47s and drugs inside the border at night time through drones. We have a long border, despite which our security forces have stopped many drones from entering the Indian side. Drones seen inside our land have been destroyed. Our forces will continue doing this work vigorously in the coming days”, Reddy told Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI).
"There is complete peace in Jammu and Kashmir except for the sponsored violence from Pakistan. Investigation is underway", the Indian minister added.
Two drones dropped improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on an Mi-17 hangar in Jammu on Sunday, leaving two IAF personnel injured. The attack marked the first time that drones have been used to target an Indian security installation.
More drones have been spotted in the India-Pakistan border region since the 27 June attack, Indian security forces have said. The Indian Army reported three more drones in Indian airspace on Tuesday shortly after midnight, with more drone sightings reported on Wednesday.
In response, Indian officials have sounded a “high alert” in the region, with the administration of the border district of Rajouri (near Jammu) even outlawing the possession of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
