Rejecting the Indian Army chief's allegation of terrorist outposts on the Pakistani side, Islamabad has claimed that the Indian military may stage "another false flag operation" to divert attention from ongoing "human rights violations" in Kashmir.
"We are concerned and we are continuing to alert the international community about India's track record. There is a real possibility that India might stage another false flag operation to complicate the current situation," said Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, a Foreign Office spokesperson, on Thursday during the weekly media briefing.
Ahmad added that Pakistan remained committed to peaceful relations with India and other neighbours.
"However, the onus is on India to create an enabling environment for dialogue," he said, adding that India has long fomented a "hostile attitude and negative behaviour" toward Pakistan.
Ahmad's remarks come a day after the Indian Army chief, Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane, claimed that there were some 350 to 400 "terrorists" on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control that had made repeated infiltration attempts, and that his staff had been able to "expose" their "nefarious intents". The Line of Control is a de-facto border between the two countries that divides the long-disputed mountainous province of Jammu and Kashmir.
"We, on our part, have resolved to show zero tolerance to terror, and commit ourselves to extract dire costs, should that be forced upon us," Naravane declared.
On Thursday, Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir police claimed that 14 terrorists have been killed since 1 January in the state, with seven claimed to be Pakistanis.
In response to a terrorist attack on an Indian military convoy in February 2019, Indian Air Force jets crossed the Line of Control into Pakistan to bomb what New Delhi claimed was a terrorist outpost belonging to the proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot. Both Delhi and Islamabad claim Kashmir in its entirety.