India hit back at accusations made by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) address on September 23, saying it was “regrettable” that he made false accusations against India.
“He has done so to obfuscate misdeeds in his own country and to justify actions against India that the world considers unacceptable,” Indian diplomat , First Secretary Mijito Vinito, said during the ‘Right of Reply’ session following the conclusion of Friday’s UNGA addresses.
Mr. Sharif had said that while Pakistan looks for peace with India, “sustainable peace and stability” in the region was contingent upon the resolution of the Kashmir issue. He brought up August 5, 2019, when India abrogated Article 370 (special status for Jammu and Kashmir).
“A polity that claims it seeks peace with its neighbours would never sponsor cross border terrorism. nor would it shelter planners of the horrific Mumbai terrorist attack, disclosing the existence only under pressure from the international community,” Mr. Vinito said in his reply, adding, “Such a country would not make unjustified and untenable territorial claims against neighbours.”
“In a classic settler colonial project, India is seeking to turn the Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir into a Hindu territory through illegal demographic changes,” Mr. Sharif had said, accusing India of seizing land from Kashmiris, gerrymandering and registering false voters.
In a segment on growing Islamophobia around the world, Mr. Sharif pointed to India.
“The officially sponsored campaign of oppression against India’s over 200 million Muslims is the worst manifestation of Islamophobia,” he said, adding, “They are subjected to discriminatory laws and policies, hijab bans, attacks on mosques and lynchings by Hindu mobs. I’m particularly concerned by the calls for genocide against India’s Muslims by some extremists.”
In his response, Mr Vinito said, “But it is not just about the neighbourhood that we have heard false claims today. It is about human rights, about minority rights and about basic decencies.”
“When young women in the thousands from the minority community are abducted as an SOP [standard operating procedure], what can we conclude about the underlying mindset?” Mr. Vinito said.
Pakistan has made accusations against India at UNGA in previous years and India has exercised its right of reply.
