World must stand unitedly against terrorism: PM Modi

Notwithstanding escalating tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sent out a message of peace and harmony from the podium of the United Nations and avoided mentioning the neighbouring country even once in his 17-minute speech to the General Assembly of the international organisation.

But his counterpart from Pakistan, Imran Khan, who also addressed the UN General Assembly, warned of a bloodbath in Jammu & Kashmir after withdrawal of the “curfew”. He also warned that any all-out conflict between Pakistan and India, both being nuclear-armed, would reverberate far beyond the borders of the two nations.

Modi did call upon the international community to unite against terrorism, albeit without reiterating New Delhi’s criticism against Pakistan for exporting terror to India. He rather focused on highlighting his government’s development programmes.

Khan, however, resorted to attacking him personally, while using the opportunity to continue Islamabad’s tirade against New Delhi’s August 5 decisions on Jammu and Kashmir. He even went on to blame Modi for the 2002 riots in Gujarat and accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of drawing inspiration from dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, who had ruled Germany and Italy.

The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations is likely to exercise its “Right to Reply” to respond to Pakistan Prime Minister’s rant against New Delhi on the issue of J&K.

“The lack of unanimity among us on the issue of terrorism, dents those very principles, that are the basis for the creation of the UN,” Prime Minister Modi said.

He noted that India was a country which had given the world, not war, but Lord Buddha’s message of peace.