'Won't give even an inch to Pakistan': Shashi Tharoor says Opposition stands with Narendra Modi on Kashmir at UN

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday slammed Pakistan over the Kashmir issue and said that the Opposition parties in India stand united with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter being taken to the United Nations.

“Pakistan has no locus standi as far as India’s internal matters are concerned. We are in the Opposition, we can criticise the government in the country over Kashmir, but outside India, we are one. We will not give even an inch to Pakistan,” Tharoor told reporters.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP’s statements came after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi earlier on Monday embarked on a three-day visit to Geneva where he will be raising the Kashmir issue at the 42nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) beginning on Monday.

Targeting Pakistan further, Tharoor accused the neighbouring country of changing the internal status of Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir in the past.

“What they are trying to accuse us of today, they have done that on their side in the past. They changed the status of Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. They, therefore, have no right to point fingers at us.”

When questioned about the stance of the Opposition parties over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming address to the United Nations General Assembly, he said, “The prime minister of India is heard with respect at the UN, he should go and speak. We are with him.”

Tharoor, however, added that the troubles faced by Kashmiris were real and the Opposition parties will continue to question the Centre on the methods used in Kashmir.

“We must understand that the ordeals faced by our Kashmiri brethren are real. The people were left without internet and telephones. Parents could not talk with their children. Political leaders were detained; Farooq Abdullah, an elected MP, was not allowed to attend meetings. We have raised these issues in the Parliament and will continue to raise them inside the country,” he said.