Pakistan is arsonist disguising itself as fire-fighter: India at UN

United Nations, Sep 25: Pakistan, where terrorists enjoy free pass, is an “arsonist” disguising itself as a “fire-fighter”, and the entire world has suffered as it nurtures dreaded terrorists like Osama bin Laden in its backyard, India has said in a blistering retort after Prime Minister Imran Khan raked up the issue of Kashmir in his address to the UN General Assembly.
“We exercise our Right of Reply to one more attempt by the leader of Pakistan to tarnish the image of this august Forum by bringing in matters internal to my country, and going so far as to spew falsehoods on the world stage,” First Secretary Sneha Dubey said in the UN General Assembly on Friday.
“While such statements deserve our collective contempt and sympathy for the mindset of the person who utters falsehood repeatedly, I am taking the floor to set the record straight,” the young Indian diplomat said, slamming the Pakistani leader for raking up the Kashmir issue in his video address to the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.
“We keep hearing that Pakistan is a ‘victim of terrorism’. This is the country which is an arsonist disguising itself as a fire-fighter. Pakistan nurtures terrorists in their backyard in the hope that they will only harm their neighbours. Our region, and in fact the entire world, has suffered because of their policies. On the other hand, they are trying to cover up sectarian violence in their country as acts of terror,” Dubey said.
Khan, in his nearly 25-minute address, had spoken about the August 5, 2019 decision of the Indian government on the abrogation of Article 370 as well as the death of pro-Pakistan separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. In the Right of Reply, Dubey strongly reiterated that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh “were, are and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. This includes the areas that are under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. We call upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation.”
Khan and other Pakistani leaders and diplomats have consistently raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and other internal matters of India in their addresses to the UN General Assembly and other forums of the world organisation. Pakistan’s attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue have
gained no traction from the international community and the Member States, who maintain that Kashmir is a bilateral matter between the two countries.
Dubey said it is regrettable that this is not the first time the leader of Pakistan has “misused” platforms provided by the UN to “propagate false and malicious propaganda against my country, and seeking in vain to divert the world’s attention from the sad state of his country where terrorists enjoy free pass while the lives of ordinary people, especially those belonging to the minority communities, are turned upside down.” With the international community marking this month the solemn occasion of the 20th anniversary of the “dastardly” 9/11 terror attacks, Dubey said the world has not forgotten that the “mastermind behind that dastardly event, Osama bin Laden, got shelter in Pakistan.
Even today, Pakistan leadership glorify him as a ‘martyr’.” “Regrettably, even today we heard the leader of Pakistan trying to justify acts of terror. Such defence of terrorism is unacceptable in the modern world,” the Indian diplomat said. Categorically emphasising India’s position, Dubey said New Delhi desires normal relations “with all our neighbours, including Pakistan.”
However, it is for Islamabad to work sincerely towards creating a conducive atmosphere, including by taking credible, verifiable and irreversible actions to not allow any territory under its control to be used for cross border terrorism against India in any manner. Asserting that Member States are aware that Pakistan has an established history and policy of harbouring, aiding and actively supporting terrorists, Dubey said the country has been globally recognised as one openly supporting, training, financing and arming terrorists as a matter of State policy. “It holds the ignoble record of hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the UN Security Council.” (PTI)