The Pakistan Army called out the Indian army chief for “extreme duplicity” after he labelled the neighbouring country an “epicentre” of terrorism, saying Islamabad takes strong exception to such baseless and unfounded statements, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.

“Insinuating Pakistan as the epicentre of terrorism by the Indian Army Chief is not only contrary to facts but also an exercise in futility to beat the dead horse of India’s default position — blaming Pakistan for Indigenous reaction to state-sponsored brutality. It is a classic case of extreme duplicity,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

The military’s media wing also said that the remarks were an attempt to deflect the world’s attention from India’s brutality in IIOJK, repression of minorities internally, and India’s transnational repression.

“The General Officer, in his earlier stint in IIOJK, personally oversaw the most brutal repression of Kashmiris. Such politically motivated and fallacious statements reflect the extreme politicisation of the Indian Army,” it stressed.

The ISPR also said that the world was a witness to India’s hate-speech conclaves that provoke genocide against Muslims, adding that the international community was not oblivious to India’s transnational assassinations, and Indian Security Forces’ oppressive use of force against innocent civilians and gross human rights violations against unarmed Kashmiris.

“Such oppression has only served to strengthen the resolve of Kashmiris for their right of self-determination, enshrined in the UN Security Council Resolutions,” it said.

The army suggested that “instead of trying to conjure up a non-existent terror infrastructure in Pakistan, it would be wise not to indulge in self-delusion, and appreciate the ground reality”.

“The sobering fact that a senior serving Indian military officer is in Pakistan’s custody, caught red-handed while orchestrating acts of terror against innocent civilians inside Pakistan seems to have been conveniently ignored by the General,” the statement added.

The ISPR also said that Pakistan takes strong exception to such baseless and unfounded statements.

“Empathising with the victims of Indian Army’s brutality, it is hoped that civility, professionalism, and norms of state-to-state behaviour would guide the conduct of Indian Army’s leadership, rather than pandering to political exigencies,” it said.