NEW DELHI: India described as “absurd, mischievous and motivated” a British Broadcasting Corporation report from Islamabad suggesting that thousands of Indian “refugees” had crossed into Azad Kashmir. An external affairs ministry spokesman said at a press briefing that the terrain through which such an ‘exodus’ was supposed to have taken place was snow bound and blocked during this time of the year.
Also, it would be physically impossible for such a large number of people to have crossed a well-defended territory unobserved, the spokesman stressed.
The BBC report, attributed to a minister in Azad Kashmir was “part of a pattern of disinformation designed to build a smoke screen around their own nefarious activities and to incite tensions among the people,” he stated.
The spokesman wondered how the BBC could pick up such palpable disinformation without bothering to cross check facts.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 6, 1990
