Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that India had nuclearized the Indian Ocean and continued deploying advanced naval systems and weapon delivery programs and pursuing its "hegemonic designs" in the region. 

According to a report on The News, Qureshi said “geostrategic competition” and “pursuit of military dominance” by some states is jeopardizing the potential for mutual cooperation and collaboration in the Indian Ocean region.

“The Indian Ocean hosted international maritime traffic that included half of the world's containerized cargo, one-third of its bulk cargo, and two-thirds of its oil shipments,” Qureshi said while speaking at the International Maritime Conference titled ‘Development of Blue Economy under a Secure and Sustainable Environment’ on Monday.

He also alleged the belligerent and aggressive policies led by the current Indian government are posing an “immediate and pervasive threat” to international and regional peace and stability.

Terming the world’s oceans as the global public commodity, Qureshi said his country was committed to promoting the prudent use of marine resources for socio-economic development, besides ensuring environmental sustainability.

To bring the blue economy to the center of the national economic development paradigm, Qureshi said, “there is [a] need to create awareness among all stakeholders about its potential economic, social and environmental benefits, and to create an enabling ecosystem to help attract investments in related sectors.”

On the same day, Pakistan’s Foreign Office decried India’s effort to give diplomats of European and Gulf countries and in the country a guided tour of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan called the tour India’s “efforts to mislead the world community”. 

Delhi-based diplomats of European and Gulf countries are expected to visit the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday and Thursday. India conducted similar trips in January and February last year.