The Centre on Sunday strongly criticised Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif over his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving Seychelles' newly instituted 'Guardian of the Blue Horizon' Presidential Distinction, with government sources describing his comments as "silly" and "motivated by envy".
According to gvernment sources, Asif was "mentally unstable" and questioned his suitability for holding Pakistan's defence portfolio.
"That Khawaja Asif is mentally unstable is a known fact. That he could be entrusted with his current responsibility says much about today's Pakistan. Clearly, he has no day job and passes time by making silly comments on matters of which he has little knowledge," the sources said.
The sources added, "Envy is always a bad motivation, particularly so from someone steeped in hate speech."
The sharp response came after Asif criticised Modi's honour from Seychelles, describing it as an "engineered" recognition.
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During his visit to Seychelles last week, Modi became the first recipient of the island nation's newly instituted 'Guardian of the Blue Horizon' Presidential Distinction. The award was conferred in recognition of his commitment to environmental conservation and support for the aspirations of Small Island Developing States.
The honour, however, triggered political controversy in India after Opposition parties questioned the official citation, pointing to spelling and typographical errors and alleging that parts of the document appeared to have been hastily prepared.
The Seychelles government subsequently defended the award, stating that it was authentic and formed part of a newly established national honours framework. It clarified that the previous honours system had been repealed following domestic political developments and that the Cabinet approved the 'Guardian of the Blue Horizon' distinction on June 24, shortly before Modi's visit.
The award marked the first presentation under Seychelles' revamped honours system.
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