Pakistan mocks India's decision to put Abhinandan to award a prize for bravery

Pakistan mocks India's decision to put Abhinandan to award a prize for bravery

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday mocked India's decision to award a bravery award to Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, saying the mention of the downed Indian pilot award was a classic case of Indian inventions and pure fantasy to appease local audiences and embarrassment to hide.

The Federal Foreign Office (FO) reacted to the Vir Chakra bravery award, which ranks third among war-time gallantry awards and which was awarded to Abhinandan Varthaman by President Ram Nath Kovind a day ago for the alleged downing of a Pakistani F-16 aircraft.

The MiG-21 Bison that Varthaman flew was shot down by a Pakistani Air Force jet, taken into custody and later returned to India. Pakistan categorically rejects completely unfounded Indian claims that a Pakistani F-16 aircraft was shot down by an Indian pilot before it was captured by Pakistan in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in February 2019, the Foreign Office said.

To back up its claim, the FO said international experts and US officials have already confirmed that no Pakistani F-16s were shot down that day after an inventory of Pakistani F-16s.

India's insistence on telling a thoroughly exposed lie is ridiculous and nonsensical. Granting military honors for imaginary heroism contradicts any norm of military behavior. With the award of such an award, even in retrospect, India had only made a mockery of itself, it was said.

In memory of the incident, the FO announced that on February 27, 2019, two Indian aircraft were shot down by the Pakistani Air Force in a daring action in daylight.

One of the Indian Mig-21bison planes crashed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The expelled pilot was captured by Pakistan and later released as a gesture of goodwill, it said. The return of Indian pilots to India was a testament to Pakistan's desire for peace despite India's hostility and ill-conceived aggressive action.

Citing facts also verified by the Indian media, the FO stated that another Indian SU 30 aircraft was shot down by the Pakistani Air Force and crashed on the other side of the LOC. On the same day, the Indian military in a panic shot down its own MI 17 helicopter near Srinagar, which was initially denied and later accepted. The Indian Air Force was completely outplayed that day, which the Indian media had also reported. It is obvious that India's absurd story has no credibility whatsoever in front of the international community, said the FO.

Pakistan, for its part, is just as ready and determined to thwart all hostile plans as it was in February 2019, the FO said, advising India to learn a lesson from its botched attempt to violate Pakistani sovereignty and to refrain from any future adversity.

Meanwhile, Pakistan and theUnited Nations condemned the arrest of human rights activist Mr. Khuram Parvez in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ & K), India. Arbitrary arrests of human rights activists on staged charges by the Indian occupation forces are clear evidence of state terrorism in New Delhi and the violation of fundamental human rights in the IIOJK said the Foreign Office spokesman. Pakistan urged the international community to hold India accountable for continuing crackdown on human rights organizations and activists who have fulfilled their duty to expose gross and systematic human rights abuses against Kashmiris in IIOJ & K and the minorities, especially Muslims in India. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Mary Lawlor, said in a tweet I hear disturbing reports that Khurram Parvez was arrested today in Kashmir and is at risk of being charged with terrorist offenses by the Indian authorities. He's not a terrorist, he's a human rights defender.

The UN human rights machine, independent NGOs and global media have been around since the 5th.

Meanwhile, the spokesman said it was reprehensible that unjustified searches by the Indian National Investigative Agency in the offices and home of Mr. Khuram Parvez had also been condemned by international human rights activists and organizations.