JOIN USIndia objects to China's J&K, Ladakh references at UNGA
After Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's rant against India, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi too raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations and stressed that no action should be taken to unilaterally change the status quo in the disputed territory.
New Delhi exercised its Right to Reply at the United Nations General Assembly to strongly protest against Pakistan Prime Minister's “hate speech” on Friday.
India also protested Chinese Foreign Minister's remarks, albeit not at the United Nations. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement in New Delhi, asking China to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
New Delhi deployed one of its newest diplomats, Vidisha Maitra, currently the First Secretary at Permanent Mission of India at the United Nations, to deliver a fiery rebuttal to Pakistan prime minister's rant on Jammu and Kashmir.
She said that citizens of India did not need “anyone else to speak on their behalf – least of all those who have built an industry of terrorism from the ideology of hate”.
"Every word was spoken from the podium of this august Assembly, it is believed, carries the weight of history,” Maitra told the General Assembly.
“Unfortunately, what we heard today from Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan was a callous portrayal of the world in binary terms. Us versus Them; Rich versus Poor; North versus South; Developed versus Developing; Muslims versus Others. A script that fosters divisiveness at the United Nations. Attempts to sharpen differences and stir up hatred, are simply put - 'hate speech'.”
Khan used his address at the UNGA to warn the world of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.
He addressed the General Assembly shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined India's message of peace and harmony in his address at the UNGA.
He accused New Delhi of curbing the human rights of the people of Kashmir. He continued Islamabad's tirade against New Delhi's August 5 decisions to strip J&K of its special status and reorganize the state into two Union Territories.
He even went on to blame Modi for the 2002 riot in Gujarat and accuse the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of drawing inspiration from dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito Musolini, who had ruled Germany and Italy.
"Words matter in diplomacy. Invocation of phrases such as "pogrom", "bloodbath", "racial superiority", "pick up the gun" and "fight to the end" reflect a medieval mindset and not a 21st century vision," said Maitra.
"Pogroms, Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi, are not a phenomenon of today's vibrant democracies.”
"We would request you to refresh your rather sketchy understanding of history. Do not forget the gruesome genocide perpetrated by Pakistan against its own people in 1971 and the role played by Lt. Gen A A K Niazi. A sordid fact that the Hon'ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh reminded this Assembly about earlier this afternoon."
Maitra said Khan's "threat of unleashing nuclear devastation qualifies as brinksmanship, not statesmanship."
China has been echoing its all-weather ally Pakistan to oppose India's recent moves on J&K.
“The Kashmir issue, a dispute left from the past, should be peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement,” Wang said, addressing the General Assembly of the international organization on behalf of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
His comment irked New Delhi, which has been maintaining that the 1972 Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan and the 1999 Lahore Declaration had left no scope for the UN or any third party to play any role in resolving the “outstanding issues” between the two South Asian neighbours.
“No actions that would unilaterally change the status quo should be taken,” said Chinese Foreign Minister. “As a neighbour of both India and Pakistan, China hopes to see the dispute effectively managed and stability restored to the relationship between the two sides.”
“The Chinese side is well aware of India's position that Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India, and that the recent developments are entirely a matter internal to us,” Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the MEA, said. We expect that other countries will respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and desist from efforts to change the status quo through the illegal so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan occupied Kashmir."