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UN: India replies to Pakistan's Kashmir comment, says empty rhetoric won't change it

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 26 Jun 2018

#Pakistan   #UN   #India   #Terrorism   #Kashmir  

UN: India replies to Pakistan's Kashmir comment, says empty rhetoric won't change it

New York: Exercising its Right of Reply at the UN General Assembly, India came down on Pakistan on Monday, after the latter accused the former of carrying out egregious crimes, such as mass blinding and killings in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi, made the comments during a debate on 'The Responsibility to Protect and the Prevention of Genocide, War Crimes, Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes against Humanity.'

Replying to Pakistan, First Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN, Sandeep Kumar Bayyapu, said, "While we are having this serious debate for the first time in a decade on an issue that is of importance to all of us, we have witnessed that one delegation has, yet again, misused this platform to make an unwarranted reference to the situation in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir."

"I would like to place on record and reiterate that the state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India. No amount of empty rhetoric from Pakistan will change this reality," Bayyapu added.

Lodhi had said that the international community is 'selective' about its outrage, highlighting certain spots, while letting go of the others.

Ironically, not too long ago, a report prepared by Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, found India guilty of committing transgressions in Jammu and Kashmir.

A screenshot of various violent protests in Kashmir sponsored by Pakistan. Indian soldiers are at the receiving end of stone pelting mob funded from across the border.

However, the said report, which has been authored by High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, made little or no mention to cross-border terrorism exported to India by Pakistan.

Alleging bias, Amsterdam-based European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) said, "This 49-page report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein displays a pronounced pro-Pakistan bias in its assessment of the human rights situation on the two sides of the Line of Control. "

"While being unfairly and unreasonably critical of India’s human rights record, it glosses over the cross-border terrorism being perpetrated by Pakistan in Jammu & Kashmir that India is defending itself against.

EFSAS has also accused Al Hussein of being in the company of Pakistani spies before submitting the report.