'Reprehensible propaganda': FO rejects India's claim of Pakistan's involvement in Jammu drone attack

• Foreign Office terms Indian minister's statement as "smear campaign" against Pakistan.
• The statement is "irresponsible and misleading" as it is not backed by evidence, says FO.
  
• Pakistan calls upon India to refrain from its "reprehensible propaganda campaign".

The Foreign Office on Wednesday rejected Indian Home Minister G Kishan Reddy's claim that Pakistan could not be ruled out as a possible force behind the recent drone attack on the Indian Air Force base at Jammu airport.

In a statement, the Foreign Office categorically rejected the "irresponsible and misleading statement" as the Indian official chose not to share any evidence in this regard.

"The Indian government has once again leveled serious allegations against Pakistan. This is yet another manifestation of the unsubstantiated propaganda and smear campaign against Pakistan that is characteristic of the Indian government and an obliging Indian media," the statement said.

This is a familiar Indian ploy to externalise any blame, use baseless allegations against Pakistan as a smokescreen, and seek to undermine the indigenous struggle for self-determination of the Kashmiri people, the Foreign Office said.

The statement underlined that the latest allegations further confirmed what Pakistan has consistently pointed out that the BJP government stages false flag operations to malign Pakistan with terrorism-related allegations for narrow political gains.

The use of the Pakistan card either to win an election or to divert attention from an electoral defeat has also, unfortunately, become standard practice, it noted.

"Pakistan calls upon India to refrain from its reprehensible propaganda campaign as no amount of Indian falsehoods can succeed in diverting attention from India’s serious crimes in [India-occupied Kashmir]," it said.

The minister, speaking to ANI a day earlier, had said that a probe into the incident was underway, but "one cannot deny the role of Pakistan" in the attack.

“There is complete peace in Jammu and Kashmir except for the sponsored violence from Pakistan," he had said.

Two blasts took place at an Indian Air Force base in Jammu airport during the early hours of Sunday, according to various Indian media reports.

The blasts, as per Indian media, were caused by drones while another IED explosive, meant for use in a possible strike at a "crowded place", was thwarted, reports quoted Indian police as saying.

One of the bombs, as per the report, damaged the roof of a building in the technical section while the other exploded in an open area.