"Lies, Frivolous Narratives": India Slams Pak For Remarks On Separatists

India has lashed out at Pakistan for its remarks on the three Kashmiri separatists who have been handed prison sentences under the anti-terror law. Slamming Islamabad for "sponsoring terrorism," the government said that instead of "peddling lies and frivolous narratives," Pakistan must introspect on the grave human rights violations that it continues to perpetrate.

Asiya Andrabi, who had founded the now-banned all-women separatist group Dukhataran-e-Millat in 1987, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court yesterday, while her associates, Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen, were given 30-year prison terms.

Pakistan today issued a statement, condemning the prison sentences for the three separatists.

India categorically rejects the statement issued by Pakistan in support of the banned terrorist organization and its members, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

Read: Separatist Asiya Andrabi Gets Life Term Under Anti-Terror Law UAPA

"Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on matters internal to India or its judicial processes. However, one is not surprised that a country, which has long been sponsoring terrorism, has come up with such a statement condoning violence and killing of innocent people," he said.

"Instead of peddling lies and frivolous narratives, Pakistan should introspect on the grave and systematic human rights violations it continues to perpetrate," Jaiswal added.

Andrabi was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in 2018 and was convicted this January. She and her two women associates had been part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to wage a war against the government, the NIA said, adding that their outfit tried to incite an insurrection.