UNITED NATIONS: Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Monday ‘advised’ Pakistan to abandon the dream of having control of Indian-held Kashmir.
Speaking at the 71st United Nations General Assembly, she said, “My firm advice to Pakistan is: abandon this dream. Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so.”
“In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it,” said Swaraj in a veiled reference to Pakistan.
The Indian minister added it had become the calling card of such nations to shelter terrorists, and urged the United Nations (UN) to hold such nations to account.
“These nations, in which UN declared terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour,” said Swaraj.
She also said that “such countries should have no place in the comity of nations”.
Swaraj referred to the speech of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the United Nations General Assembly, and said the allegations levelled against India were “baseless”. The Indian foreign minister also said, “Prime Minister of Pakistan used this podium to make baseless allegations about human rights violations in my country.”
Pakistan should introspect and see the abuses being carried out in Balochistan, the Indian foreign minister said further.
She added that the “brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of state oppression”.
Swaraj claimed that India had no preconditions for talks with Pakistan and said India wants to resolve issues not on the basis of conditions, but on the basis of friendship.
Swaraj said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended the hand of friendship to Pakistan by inviting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in ceremony in May 2014, and also visiting Lahore last December in a goodwill gesture.
The minister alleged that India did not receive the appropriate response from Pakistan and instead got a reply in the form of “Pathankot, Bahadur Ali, and Uri”.
“Bahadur Ali is a terrorist in our custody, whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan’s complicity in cross-border terror,” claimed the Indian foreign minister.
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