India slammed Pakistan after its foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at a Security Council debate on women, peace and security, saying it is ‘unworthy’ to even respond to such ‘malicious and false propaganda’.
Despite facing the worst economic crisis, Pakistan is raking up the issue of Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir at the UN, knowing fully well that the only unfinished partition agenda left is, merger of Pak Occupied Kashmir with India. New Delhi has time & again reiterated that J&K is an integral part of India including PoK. Pakistan’s blind obsession with the issue is such that it does not even hear voices of people of PoK, who are protesting against Pak government and even demanding a merger with India. Pak TV reporters have broadcast a number of interviews in the last days, where people in Muzaffarabad and Gilgit-Baltistan have been speaking against the federal government and many demanded re-joining India. People are fed up of decades of neglect, facing shortage of food items even flour, struggling with abject poverty and living without any infrastructure and basic facilities like electricity, roads, schools or hospitals.
Responding to Zardari’s remarks on Jammu and Kashmir, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ruchira Kamboj termed his remarks as ‘baseless and politically motivated’.
Speaking at the UN Security Council open debate, Kamboj said, “My delegation considers it unworthy to even respond to such malicious and false propaganda.”
“Rather, our focus is where it shall always be – positive and forward-looking. Today’s discussion is critically important to strengthen our collective efforts to accelerate the full implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. We respect the topic of the debate and recognise the importance of time. As such, our focus shall remain on the topic,” she she was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Kamboj replied sharply to Pakistan Foreign Minister Zardari’s mention of Jammu and Kashmir during the Council debate led by Mozambique’s Presidency this month, on the eve of International Women’s Day. India has consistently informed Pakistan that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are and will always be an integral part of India.
India has emphasized that it seeks normal, neighborly relations with Pakistan, but Islamabad must first establish a terror and hostility-free environment for such an engagement.
