India has strongly criticised Pakistan at the United Nations, accusing it of continuing to illegally occupy Jammu and Kashmir and demanding its immediate vacating.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, made these remarks on Monday during the UN Security Council’s Open Debate on Advancing Adaptability in UN Peace Operations.
“Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and will always be an integral part of India. Pakistan continues to illegally occupy the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which it must vacate,” Harish said.
Harish’s strong response followed Pakistan’s attempt to raise the issue of Jammu and Kashmir during the UNSC open debate. He said that India felt compelled to address the “unwarranted remarks” made by the Pakistani delegate regarding the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Such repeated references neither validate their illegal claims nor justify their state-sponsored cross-border terrorism,” Harish said adding that “we would advise Pakistan not to try to divert the attention of this forum to drive their parochial and divisive agenda.”
He added that India would refrain from offering a more detailed Right of Reply.
Relations between India and Pakistan soured significantly after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5, 2019, revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and dividing the region into two Union Territories.
