Pakistan on Thursday accused India of using 'excessive force' against separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir and said that it such a move by the Indian Government was 'regrettable'.
"As regards to the question regarding unfurling or raising of Pakistani flag and the reaction, what we witnessed yesterday on the streets of Srinagar is the manifestation of the deep and lasting emotional bonds between the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir and the people of Pakistan. It is regrettable that India chose to use excessive force against peaceful demonstrators," said Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Tasnim Aslam.
Aslam further called the charges put on the separatist leaders to be 'bogus' and 'illegal'.
"They were demonstrators, who were expressing, who were exercising their right to peaceful assembly. We believe that the charges against the Kashmiri leadership are 'bogus' and 'illegal'. As India does not have any legal right to demand allegiance to state of India by people of Kashmir, who belong to a disputed territory and whose final settlement in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions is yet to happen," she said.
"We are concerned at the constant violations of Kashmiris' fundamental rights. Remain steadfast in our stand of extending full political, diplomatic and moral support to our Kashmiri brothers in Indian Occupied Kashmir," she added.
Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the country would not accept pro-Pakistan slogans on Indian soil, and added that he has asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to take strict action against separatist leaders who did so.
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A host of protests were organised across the country in protest against separatist leader Masarat Alam and the Jammu and Kashmir government.
On Wednesday, Alam sparked a fresh controversy by raising anti-India slogans to greet separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
The incident led to widespread criticism over Mufti Sayeed's move to release Alam, a political prisoner, from the Baramulla prison, as there were no criminal charges against him.
Alam is the chairman of Muslim League, a constituent of hardline Hurriyat Conference led by Geelani and is widely seen as the latter's heir apparent.
He had been convicted for organizing anti-India protests resulting in the death of 112 people in stone pelting across the Valley in 2010.