New York: India once again dismissed and condemned 'baseless' remarks on the Kashmir issue by Pakistan in the UN Security Council, calling it an another habitual attempt to divert attention from the "grave violations" against children that continue unabated in Pakistan. India's remarks came amid a meeting on children and armed conflict in the 15-member Council.
"Let me respond briefly in the interest of time to remarks, which were obviously politically motivated and unfounded, made by one representative against my country. I categorically dismiss and condemn these baseless remarks with the contempt they deserve,” Ambassador R. Ravindra, Chargé d'Affaires and Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the UN, said on Wednesday.
India’s strong response came after Pakistan's envoy at the UN Munir Akram spoke at length about Jammu and Kashmir in his remarks to the Council during the open debate on Children and Armed Conflict. Ravindra said this is "nothing but another habitual attempt to divert attention from the grave violations against children that continue unabated in his own country" as he highlighted this year's report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on children and armed conflict.
"As far as Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are concerned they were, are and always will be an integral and inalienable part of India, irrespective of what this particular representative or his country believes or wishes," Ravindra said.
UN highlights 'grave violations' against children in Pakistan
According to the UN Secretary-General's report on Children and Armed Conflict from January to December 2023, a total of 78 grave violations have been noted against 73 children in Pakistan. At least 40 children were killed and 33 were maimed by 72 unidentified armed elements. These included 13 boys, 7 girls and 53 of unknown sex. Casualties were caused by explosive ordnance (66) and gunshots (7). Five attacks on schools, including against protected persons in relation to schools, were also reported.
“I am concerned about the rise in reported grave violations, in particular the killing and maiming of children and attacks against schools, and about incidents in the border areas with Afghanistan,” the UN chief said in his comments about Pakistan in the report. Pakistan was listed as a situation of concern in Guterres' report.
Pakistan's 'habit' of raising Kashmir issue
This was the second day in a row that Munir raised the issue of Kashmir in his remarks at the UN and was met with a strong retort by India. On Tuesday, India slammed Pakistan for its “baseless and deceitful narratives” after Munir made references to Kashmir in the UN General Assembly.
"I will not dignify these remarks with any response, just to save the valuable time of this august body," he said. Mathur was delivering India's statement at the UN General Assembly debate on the Annual Report of the UN Security Council. This came when Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar sent a “positive message” to India and said his country does not believe in “perpetual hostility” and urged the new government in New Delhi to do a “sober reflection” on its future ties with Islamabad.
Pakistan regularly raises the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at various UN platforms, irrespective of the subject matter being discussed or the theme of the forum and fails to get any support or traction. India has previously rejected Pakistan's attempts to raise the Kashmir issue at international forums, asserting that the "Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India."
(with inputs from PTI)
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