United Nations: Soon after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's speech at UNGA on Monday, India in a sharp rebuttal to Pakistan said at the United Nations that it hoped the message was loud and clear that Kashmir was an integral part of India and would always remain so.
India's First Secretary in the Indian Mission to the UN, Eenam Gambhir, again delivered a short and cutting reply to Pakistan's UN envoy Maleeha Lodhi, who said in her right of reply that J&K "never was and can never be an integral part of India".
Gambhir, who was chosen to deliver India's stinging reply to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's UN address last week, said in response to Lodhi's statement, "And finally, it appears that the distinguished representative of Pakistan did not hear what our Minister of External Affairs said - that the state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always continue to do so. We hope the message is loud and clear."
Gambhir, said that the Pakistani envoy's speech were the "views of a dysfunctional state which builds atrocity upon atrocity on its own people preaching about values of tolerance, democracy and human rights. We reject entirely these sermons".
She said Lodhi's Right to Reply to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's speech was aimed to "divert attention from the country's continued sponsorship of terror" and described her remarks on the Kashmir unrest as "fanciful and misleading".
Following is the full text of Gambhir's statement:
Mr President,
In yet another attempt to divert our attention from her country’s continued sponsorship of terrorism, we have heard the distinguished Permanent Representative of Pakistan make a fanciful and misleading presentation on the situation in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir.
At the same time, we did not see any attempt by her to answer questions that are being posed by the international community repeatedly to Pakistan: Can the representative of Pakistan clarify how is it that terror sanctuaries and safe havens in her country continue to flourish despite the Pakistan army’s much-vaunted counter-terrorism operations, and the billions of dollars of international counter-terrorism aid it obtains? Can the representative of Pakistan confirm that they do not use terrorist proxies and export terrorism as a matter of state policy. Can the representative of Pakistan deny that Pakistan had assured in 2004 that it would not allow its territories, or territories under its control, to be used for terror attacks against India? And can the representative of Pakistan deny that Pakistan has failed to honour that assurance given at the highest level.
Mr President, We have heard today, the views of a dysfunctional state which builds atrocity upon atrocity on its own people, preaching about values of tolerance, democracy and human rights. We reject entirely these sermons. On the other hand, will the representative of Pakistan deny that the armed forces of her country committed one of the most extensive and heinous genocides in human history in 1971? Will the representative of Pakistan deny that its armed forces have used air strikes and artillery against its own people repeatedly ? Will the representative of Pakistan explain why is it that Pakistan’s civil society is being silenced by the plethora of heavily armed militias that go by names such as “Jaish” or Army, “Lashkar” or Army, “Sipah” or Soldiers and “Harkat or Armed movement” ?
Finally, Mr President, it appears that the distinguished representative of Pakistan did not hear clearly what our Minister of External Affairs stated during her address earlier today, I quote “the state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, and will always continue to be so”. We hope that the message is loud and clear. Thank You Mr President.
India’s Statement in exercise of Second Right of Reply 26 September 2016
Mr President, We have patiently listened to our colleague from Pakistan. They have yet again chosen to stay silent on the tough questions. This is what we have come to expect from Pakistan. Deception, deceit and denial. The world still awaits their response.
Listen to her reply here:
(With IANS inputs)
