India fiercely condemned Pakistan for once again raising the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Friday.
Responding in its Right of Reply, India criticised Pakistan's Prime Minister for his remarks on Jammu and Kashmir, calling out the hypocrisy of a country "with a global reputation for terrorism" for lecturing India, the world's largest democracy.
Bhavika Mangalanandan, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, condemned Pakistan’s use of terrorism to disrupt elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The fact is that Pakistan covets our territory and has consistently resorted to terrorism to disrupt elections in J&K,” she said, reiterating that the Union Territory remains an integral part of India.
"This assembly regrettably witnessed a travesty this morning. A country run by the military, with a global reputation for terrorism, narcotics trade, and transnational crime, has dared to attack the world's largest democracy. I am referring to Pakistan's reference to India in the speech of their Prime Minister," Mangalanandan said during her response.
She invoked the 2008 Mumbai terror attack and the 2001 Parliament attack to underline her point.
“Pakistan has attacked our Parliament, our economic backbone in Mumbai, our marketplaces, and pilgrimage routes. The list goes on,” she said.
"For such a country to speak about violence anywhere is hypocrisy at its worst. It is even more extraordinary for a country with a history of rigged elections to comment on political choices, especially in a democracy like India," added the Indian diplomat.
Earlier in his address to the UNGA, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif demanded that "India reverse the revocation of Article 370" from the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sharif criticised India for not implementing UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, and accused India of taking "unilateral, illegal steps" since August 5, 2019.
Responding to these claims, Mangalanandan reiterated that Pakistan, with its long-standing history of terrorism, has no right to lecture India, a nation that proudly upholds democratic values and principles.
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