Bilawal Bhutto's personal attack on PM Modi: Pakistan rejects India's criticism amid BJP protests, demand for apology

Responding to India’s criticism of its Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s personal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistan on Saturday accused India of showing its “growing frustration”. Earlier on Friday, the Indian External Affairs Ministry had slammed Bhutto’s remarks, calling it an “uncivilised” outburst and a “new low, even for Pakistan". 

The Pakistan Foreign Office called the MEA statement “a reflection of India's growing frustration over its failure in maligning and isolating Pakistan”. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged protests in various Indian cities chanting slogans against Bhutto, burning his posters and effigies and demanding an apology from Pakistan. 

The Pakistan minister had sparked massive backlash from India with a personal attack on PM Modi where he used extreme, unparliamentary and derogatory language for the head of state. His attack had come in response to India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar accusing Pakistan as the “epicentre of terrorism”. Both were on a visit to New York to attend events of the UN.

The Indian MEA had responded the next day calling it an “uncivilised outburst” and his “frustration”, telling him it would be better directed towards terror masterminds in Pakistan who have made terrorism a “state policy”. 

“Pakistan is a country that glorifies Osama bin Laden as a martyr, and shelters terrorists like (Zakiur Rehman) Lakhvi, Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, Sajid Mir and Dawood Ibrahim,” EAM’s Arindam Bagchi had said. 

“No other country can boast of having 126 UN-designated terrorists and 27 UN-designated terrorist entities,” he slammed Pakistan. Bagchi called the outburst “a new low, even for Pakistan”. 

In response, the Pakistan FO accused India of “desperately using international platforms to advance its agenda to defame and target Pakistan” after the country’s  removal from the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October. It further accused India of following a policy of “pettiness towards its neighbours”.

"Intimidation and demonisation of religious minorities receives official patronage in states across India," Pakistan FO alleged, claiming that New Delhi was “peddling a fictitious narrative of victimhood.”

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(With inputs from PTI)