Strongly objecting to local media reports, Pakistan on Monday said its Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was 'falsely implicated' by a news report alleging that he conducted training camps for jehadis.
"The news item is based on reported remarks by Yaseen Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, in which he was misquoted that Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was involved in running training camps for militants," the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement on Monday.
"The government of Pakistan strongly refutes this news story which is obviously based on lack of comprehension by the reporter. In fact, Yaseen Malik in his remarks at the inaugural ceremony of his photo exhibition at a local hotel, had commended the moral support extended to the Kashmir cause by the minister," it said.
Daily Times newspaper had quoted Malik as saying that when militancy was at its 'zenith', Rashid had set up a 'camp where 3,500 jehadis were trained in guerrilla warfare'.
"Any out of context interpretation to the remarks made by the Kashmiri leader should be avoided, which could vitiate the existing environment and have negative impact on the ongoing peace process," it added.
The statement however made no reference to the India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesman's remarks expressing concern over the minister's reported involvement in running militant camps.
Commenting on India's concerns, Rashid, in a separate statement, said it had never been his policy to train militants and the Indian government should not have reacted without verifying facts.
"It has never been my policy to train militants. I am a politician who strongly supported the peace process between India and Pakistan," he said.
He said he has 'always been supporting the legitimate struggle of Kashmiris for their right to self-determination as per the United Nations resolutions'.