India on Thursday strongly condemned Pakistan for holding political funerals for terrorists killed in recent Indian attacks on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Criticizing Islamabad, he said that political cremation of terrorists has become a practice in Pakistan. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, showing a photo of the funeral, said that uniformed Pakistani army and police personnel were seen praying behind the coffins of the slain terrorists, and asked what message the photo conveyed. In one instance, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist was seen leading a funeral prayer.
He said, "If only civilians have been killed in these attacks, I wonder what message this picture really conveys to all of us. This is a question that deserves to be asked. It is also strange that coffins are draped in Pakistani flags and given political honors at civilian funerals."
Strongly rejecting claims of civilian casualties, the foreign secretary asserted, "As far as we are concerned, the people killed at these sites were terrorists. It may be a practice in Pakistan to cremate terrorists with political honours, but we don't think so."