New York: Pakistani and Indian delegates engaged in a fresh spar at the United Nations on Tuesday after Pakistan’s Ambassador Munir Akram drew the world community’s attention to the threat posed to South Asia’s peace and security by India’s “aggressive and expansionist” regime, and highlighted New Delhi’s grave human rights violations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
In reaction to Ambassador Akram’s remarks, Indian delegate Subashashini reacted sharply. She claimed that Jammu and Kashmir was an internal matter of India, and accused Pakistan of involvement in terrorism. She also urged Pakistan to concern itself with “disturbing conditions” of minorities and women in its country.
Exercising his right of reply, Pakistan’s delegate Gul Qaiser Sarwani rejected India’s claim that Jammu and Kashmir was its part, saying the United Nations maps show the territory Kashmir as a “disputed territory.”
“The biggest falsehood that we just heard is that Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India,” the Pakistani delegate said, adding, “This is a legal fiction.”
Under the terms of the UN resolutions, the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir is to be determined by its people through an UN-supervised plebiscite, Sarwani said, pointing out that India had accepted this resolution and was bound to comply with it in accordance with UN Charter’s Article 25.
In Kashmir, the oldest United Nations peace-keeping force (UNMOGIP) is deployed along the Line of Control (LOC) in the disputed region.
“If India has any respect for international law and moral courage, it will end its reign of terror, withdraw its troops and let the Kashmiris freely decide their future in accordance with the Security Council resolutions.”
Aggressors, colonizers, and occupiers often attempt to justify their suppression of legitimate struggles for self-determination and freedom by portraying them as “terrorism”, Sarwani said.
With additional input from the APP.
