New York: Pakistan has firmly rejected India’s accusations of involvement in terrorism, saying it was ironic for a country that uses the menace as an instrument of state policy against its neighbors to point fingers at others.
“It is very surprising to see that this country is lecturing on issue of terrorism when it is itself a state sponsor of terrorism, running an international franchise of assassination drives,” Pakistani delegate Gul Qaiser Sarwani told the UNSC while replying to the charges leveled by India’s External Affairs Secretary Tanmaya Lal.
India’s representative, who was reacting to Pakistani Prime Minister’s speech during the Council’s debate on ‘Peace for Leadership’ in which he called for an effectively addressing the resurgence of the terrorist threat from Afghanistan, especially from Fitna al-Khawarij and Daesh (ISIL-K).
“The UNSC must call for a halt to the massive violations of the fundamental rights of Kashmiri people and implement its own resolutions that demand a plebiscite for self-determination in Kashmir valley,” Pakistan’s PM said.
Responding to the PM’s comments, the Indian delegate accused Islamabad of supporting the elaborate terror ecosystem, training and harbouring terrorists, adding, “It is high time Pakistan ends occupying and commenting other’s territories.”
Exercising his right of reply, Pakistani delegate, accused New Delhi of distorting facts and propagating a false narrative, not only to malign Pakistan, but also to divert attention from it’s domestic issues and grave violations of global law.
Kulbhushan Jadhav: Evidence of India’s State-sponsored Terrorism
“Apart from its state terrorism against civilians of Indian illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), New Delhi is also sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan,” Sarwani added.
He added Pakistan has solid evidence of Indian sponsorship of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), who have been involved in many terrorist attacks against military targets and civilians across Pakistan.
“The arrest and conviction of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a serving Indian naval officer and an operative of India’s intelligence agency RAW, is irrefutable evidence of India’s state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan, including targeted assassinations in Pakistan,” Sarwani went on.
‘Now, the Indian terrorist franchise has gone international with assassinations and attempted murders of political dissidents on American land,” he added, saying: “New Delhi must end its state-sponsored terrorism, cease its unlawful occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, and fulfill its obligations under global law.
Sarwani said, “New Delhi must be held answerable for its terrorist activities. New Delhi’s actions must not go unpunished, and the world can no longer afford to grant New Delhi impunity.”
As regards Kashmir, he said that the Kashmir dispute was on the agenda of the UNSC whose resolutions decided that the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir shall be determined by its people through a UN-supervised plebiscite.
“Let me reaffirm that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed region. It never was, nor is a part of India or its internal issued,” Sarwani concluded.
