'False and baseless': Pak rejects Modi’s remarks on surgical strikes

Pakistan on Thursday rejected as "false and baseless" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on 'surgical strikes' across the Line of Control in 2016 , saying "repeating a lie doesn't turn it into the truth".

Speaking at the 'Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath' event in London on Wednesday, Modi had said India waited to inform Pakistan about the operation before disclosing it to the media and the people.

"I said before India gets to know, we should call Pakistan and tell them. We were calling them since 11 am but they were scared to come on phone, at 12 we spoke to them and then told the Indian media," Modi had said.

Reacting to Modi's remarks, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said on Thursday that India's claims about the "surgical strike were false and baseless".

"Repeating a lie doesn't turn it into the truth," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by Pakistan's Dawn newspaper.

In response to Modi's comments on Pakistan exporting terrorism, Faisal claimed it was the other way around and accused India of backing terrorists in Pakistan.

"Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav is proof of Indian state-sponsored terrorism," he alleged.

Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism.

India moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in May last year against the verdict. The ICJ halted his execution on India's appeal pending the final verdict by it.

PTI