New Delhi: India on Tuesday delivered a sharp response to expressions of support from Pakistani Gen Z groups for the recent student protests at Jantar Mantar, asserting that the youth across the border should instead press their own government to end state-sponsored cross-border terrorism against India.
Addressing a weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pakistan has a long history of sponsoring cross-border terrorism, and this remains the central concern of the Indian people.
“We are all aware that Pakistan has been sponsoring cross-border terrorism against India for several decades. The people of India, including Gen Z, have been demanding that Pakistan end its state-sponsored cross-border terrorism. We hope their counterparts are taking due note,” Jaiswal said while responding to a question regarding Pakistani youth expressing solidarity with the protests held in Delhi and other cities.
The remarks came after several Pakistani social media users and youth groups publicly backed the demonstrations, drawing comparisons between the shared histories and cultures of India and Pakistan. While Pakistan’s youth voiced support online, the country’s Foreign Ministry maintained that the protests were an internal matter of India and declined to comment further.
Jaiswal also rejected Pakistan’s attempts to invoke the shared legacy of the Indus Valley Civilisation, saying such claims were inconsistent with Islamabad’s record on terrorism, religious extremism and the treatment of minorities.
“A country that has been promoting cross-border terrorism, religious fundamentalism and violence for decades cannot claim a pluralistic cultural legacy. Its poor record on protecting minorities and their cultural rights makes such claims appear hollow,” he said.
The comments also come against the backdrop of renewed tensions over the Indus Waters Treaty. Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar had recently described the Indus Valley Civilisation as central to Pakistan’s national identity after India placed the treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack last year that claimed the lives of 26 civilians.
India has consistently maintained that Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism has fundamentally undermined the basis of bilateral cooperation, including the Indus Waters Treaty, and that the issue cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader security concerns between the two countries.
