India on Thursday hit out at Pakistan for its unwarranted statements on Jammu and Kashmir and said they were nothing but “lies and deceit”. New Delhi said that Kashmir is an internal matter and Pakistan’s statements were “highly irresponsible”

“We strongly condemn the recent statements by Pakistani leadership on matters internal to India. These are very irresponsible statements,”said MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

Imran Khan and his ministers have been consistently targeting India after the government decided to nullify Article 370 ending the special status for Jammu and Kashmir. “The provocative statements from Pakistan include call for jihad and inciting violence in India,” MEA’s Raveesh Kumar said.

On Pakistan’s letter to the United Nations alleging human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, the external affairs ministry said “the letter is not even worth the paper on which it was written. Don’t want to give credence to it by reacting”.

New Delhi’s comments come amid rising tensions between thetwo neighbours and on a day Pakistan test-fired its surface to surface missileGhaznavi.The timing of the missile launch is seen as part of an effort byPakistan to internationalise the Kashmir issue at both military and diplomaticlevels. It also raises the spectre of nuclear war between the two countries.

Pakistan has also been threatening to close its airspace toIndia. But there seems to be different voices within the Imran Khan regime overthe issue. Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted on Tuesdaythat the government was considering complete closure of airspace to India butforeign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said no such decision has been taken yet.