India hits back at Pakistan at UN, says country globally recognised epicentre of terrorism

India has hit out at Pakistan, saying if there is an “unfinished agenda” at the UN, it is that of tackling the scourge of terrorism and called the country a globally recognised epicentre of the menace, which harbours and trains terrorists and hails them as martyrs.

First Secretary in the country’s Permanent Mission to the UN Vidisha Maitra on Monday said: “Pakistan is a country which is globally recognised as the epicentre of terrorism, which by its own admission harbours and trains terrorists, and hails them as martyrs and consistently persecutes its ethnic and religious minorities”.

The remarks were in reference to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s comments where he termed former al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden as a “martyr”.

Hours after Pakistan raked Kashmir issue at the UN, India slammed Pakistan and said, “We reject the malicious reference made to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India. If there is an item that is unfinished on the agenda of the UN, it is that of tackling the scourge of terrorism.”

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had on Monday raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir during his address to the high-level meeting on the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the world organisation.

Qureshi said Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine were the UN’s “most glaring and long-standing disputes” and the people of Jammu and Kashmir still await the fulfilment of the commitment made to them by the UN to grant them their “right to self-determination.”

Following this, Maitra said India had hoped that during this solemn commemoration of a shared global milestone, the General Assembly would be “spared another repetition of the baseless falsehoods that have now become a trademark of Pakistan's interventions on such platforms”.

“However, for a nation that is bereft of milestones, one can only expect a stonewalled and stymied approach to reason, diplomacy and dialogue. What we heard today is the never-ending fabricated narrative presented by the Pakistani representative about the internal affairs of India,” she said.

Rejecting the reference made to Jammu and Kashmir, Maitra said Pakistan "will do well to turn its attention inwards to immediately addressing these pressing concerns instead of diverting attention from them by misusing the UN platforms.”

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