New Delhi: Dismissing Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri's acerbic attack against it, India on April 16 dubbed Pakistan as the "most irresponsible country", accusing it of continuing to foment violence and sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts.

"They (Pakistan) continue to foment violence in India and sponsor terrorism against it. Is that being responsible. In fact, I would say that Pakistan is probably the most irresponsible country in the world," Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal told a television channel.

Kasuri had on April 15 warned India of massive retaliation if it tried to launch a pre-emptive strike on Pakistan, contending that Islamabad had a more advance missile programme than New Delhi.

He also described as "irresponsible", comments from External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha that there was a stronger case for military action against Pakistan than Iraq if the criteria for it was having weapons of mass destruction, export of terrorism and absence of Democracy.

Hitting back, Sibal said Islamabad was irresponsible to its own people because it has not been able to give them Democracy, irresponsible to the region because it has blocked normal progress, peace and stability through its policies.

Sibal said Pakistan was also irresponsible because of the volatile mixture of international terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism and weapons of mass destruction.

"They are the last people to talk about India being irresponsible," he said.

Asked about Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali's statement that Pakistan would "use all that it has" against India while claiming that his country was more advanced in missile capabilities, Sibal said, "The implications of course is that they are willing to use weapons of mass destruction against India. Is that responsible?

"We have not said anything of that kind at all," Sibal added.

PTI