Key excerpts from Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s UN speech!

New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday, while addressing the General Assembly of the United Nations, not only raked up the Kashmir issue, but also hailed slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani.

Here are some key excerpts from Sharif’s speech at the UN:

• Sharif said the uprising in Kashmir has been met with "brutal repression by Indian soldiers" and that his country will share a dossier on Indian brutalities with the UN Secretary General.
• On behalf of the Kashmiri people and Pakistani nation I demand an independent inquiry into the extra judicial killings and a UN fact-finding mission to investigate brutalities perpetrated by the Indian forces in Kashmir.
• Strongly raising the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly, Sharif hailed Burhan Wani, who was killed on July 8, as a leader of a "Kashmiri intifada".
• Sharif also said that Pakistan fully supports the demand of the Kashmiri people, adding that their struggle is the legitimate one for liberation from alien occupation.
• Sharif, while speaking about the unrest in Kashmir, said, "We demand the immediate release of all Kashmiri political prisoners".
• Peace and normalcy cannot be achieved between India and Pakistan without resolving the Kashmir issue.
• The Pakistan Prime Minister claimed that he had "gone the extra seeking talks but India has posed unacceptable preconditions to engage in a dialogue.
• Pakistani premier said that his country has been a major victim of terrorism. He said Pakistan carried out the largest anti-terror operation Zarb-e-azb, of the world, dedicating 200,000 security personnel to fight home grown terrorist outfits.
•  Claiming that Pakistan is a "responsible" nuclear weapon state, Sharif said his country will continue to cooperate with all international efforts that seek to promote fair and equitable solutions to disarmament and non-proliferation challenges.
• Pakistan is fully eligible for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group," Sharif added.

India, on the other hand, has strongly criticized Sharif's speech and said that Pakistan is in complete denial of of its complicity in Sunday's cross-border terror attack on an army base at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir in which 18 Indian soldiers lost their lives.

Hitting back at Pakistan, India said the "glorification" of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani at the UN showed Islamabad's "attachment to terrorism".

(With Agencies input)