India to Pakistan: Abandon your futile quest, J& K is and will remain India’s integral part

NEW YORK: Abandon your futile quest and stop abusing international fora for Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. This is India’s strongly-worded message to Pakistan which continues to rake up the Kashmir issue to divert the world’s attention from its relentless pursuit of terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

“Our response to Pakistan is consistent. Abandon your futile quest. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so,” India’s Permanent Representative to UN Syed Akbaruddin said during a General Assembly debate on ‘Report of the Secretary General on the Work of the Organisation’ at the 71^st session of the UNGA.

“No amount of misuse of international fora by Pakistan will change that reality. The sell by date of Pakistan’s anachronistic approach is over,” he underlined in a blistering rebuttal to remarks by Pakistan’s envoy Maleeha Lodhi, who had claimed that India has created conditions that pose a threat to peace and security in the region by its recent “declarations and actions.”

Describing Pakistan as “a global epicenter of terrorism,” India’s PR stressed that the claims by Pakistan on alleged rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir “find no resonance amongst the international community.” “Just less than 10 days ago the GA Debate witnessed a singular lack of support for Pakistan’s baseless claims. Need one say more,” he said.

Get serious, too many cooks spoil the broth

The Indian envoy also offered a strong critique of the UN Security Council’s vacillation on the issue of terrorism, specially the sanctioning of “leaders of organizations it has itself designated as terrorist entities.” He was alluding to the extension of technical hold in the UNSC on India’s application for the sanctioning of Masood Azhar, the prime suspect in the Pathankot and Uri terror attacks.

“On the issue of terrorism the UN is yet to come up with a coherent policy let alone take the lead on one of the biggest threats to global peace and security. As many as 31 entities within the United Nations deal with some aspect of countering terrorism,” he said.

“We have learnt of the adage that too many cooks spoil the broth. This is clearly the case as coherence and coordination is missing. It is near impossible to argue the case of relevance of the UN on the issue of terrorism where even adoption of an international norm to “prosecute or extradite” terrorists evades us despite 20 years of talk,” he said.

India-backed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) is still languishing in the UN due to ambivalence by some nations like Pakistan and OIC countries on the definition of terrorism.

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