Any country not willing to fight terrorism should be isolated, says Sushma Swaraj at UN
The external affairs minister criticised Pakistan for its reported links with terror and for repeatedly bringing up the Kashmir issue.
In an address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday said countries not willing to join the fight against terrorism should be isolated. She said terrorism was the biggest attack on human rights, and came down heavily on Pakistan in her address. Swaraj was responding to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's address at the 71st session of the UNGA in New York, where he spoke about Kashmir and praised Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani who was shot dead on July 8.
She also mentioned the insurgency in Balochistan, and asked Sharif to examine the condition of regions in his own country, adding that "people who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others". Sharif has repeatedly brought up alleged human rights violations in Kashmir at various international forums. He has also written to the UN about it.
Swaraj said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered an olive branch to Pakistan in the past. "What did India get? Pathankot? Uri? Bahadur Ali?" she asked. Swaraj also reiterated New Delhi's stand on Kashmir when she said that the Valley was an integral part of India and it would remain so in the future. The region has reported regular incidents of protests and violence since the killing of Wani on July 8.
The spokesperson for Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to her speech and asked why Kashmir was on the UN's Security Council agenda if it was a part of India. Mohammed Nafees Zakaria also said Swaraj's mention of Balochistan was "against UN principles and international law", and added that India's mention of the region was "trying to divert world attention from its atrocities on defenceless Kashmiris".
Relations between Islamabad and New Delhi have worsened after the attack on an Army facility in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri on September 18, which left 18 soldiers dead. The Indian government has attempted to diplomatically isolate its neighbour after the attack in Uri. United States legislators have also introduced a Bill in their House of Representatives, seeking a terror tag for Pakistan.
India believes Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed orchestrated the Uri Army base attack. Pakistan, however, refuted the accusation and asked for “actionable evidence” to prove it. Bilateral disputes between Delhi and Islamabad have often found a platform at the United Nations. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 had accused Pakistan of using terrorism as an "instrument of state policy against India".
Here is Sushma Swaraj's entire speech at the UNGA: