New Delhi, May 9: India on Friday yet again slammed Pakistan for continuously pedalling blatant lies, asserting that the Pakistani state machinery is sinking to new depths in its quest for disinformation.

Addressing a special media briefing on Operation Sindoor, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri cited Pakistan Army's heavy mortar shelling in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch that targeted a Gurdwara and resulted in the death of many people from the Sikh community while exposing Islamabad's false claims of not targetting any religious places.

"Instead of owning up to these attacks, Pakistan made the preposterous and outrageous claim that it was the Indian Armed Forces and the Indian Air Force that were targeting cities like Amritsar and trying to blame Pakistan. This is nothing but a desperate attempt by Pakistan to disown its acts of aggression, and it is consistent with their pattern of deceiving and misleading the world," said Misri.

"It will not succeed. The Gurdwara in Poonch, in particular, was attacked by Pakistan, and some local members of the Sikh community, including a Ragi of the Gurdwara, lost their lives in this incident," he added.

Highlighting the "provocative and escalatory actions" taken by Pakistan on Thursday night which were targetted at Indian cities and civilian infrastructure in addition to military targets, the Foreign Secretary also deflated Pakistan's false propaganda of accusing India of attacking the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara.

"This is yet another blatant lie and part of Pakistan's disinformation campaign. As we saw in the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan is again desperately trying to give a communal hue to the situation with the intention to create discord," the top diplomat stated.

"What I want to underline is that the official and blatantly farcical denial of these attacks carried out by Pakistan, made by the Pakistani state machinery, is yet another example of their duplicity and the new depths they are sinking to in their quest for disinformation," he mentioned.

As the Indian Armed Forces continue to respond "proportionately, adequately, and responsibly" to the repeated escalatory attempts being made by Pakistan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the Kartarpur Corridor will remain shut "till further orders" in view of the existing security situation.

"I think you are all aware of the situation along the entire India-Pakistan border and the areas along the Line of Control. In view of the existing security situation, the services of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor have been suspended until further notice. We will update you as and when there is a change in the situation," said Misri.

--IANS

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