New York/New Delhi : In a strong rebuttal of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's anti-India statement at the UN General Assembly, India on Thursday expressed regret that Pakistan has "once again chosen to misuse" the floor of the world body to "distort reality and portray a false picture of the challenges in our region".
Exercising India's Right of Reply during the General Debate of the 70th session of UN General Assembly, India's First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, said: "Pakistan claims to be the primary victim of terrorism. In truth, it is actually a victim of its own policies of breeding and sponsoring terrorists. Seeking to mask its activities as though an outcome of domestic discontent in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir carries no credibility with the world."
Rebutting Pakistan's claim that Jammu and Kashmir was "under foreign occupation", India said that the state is under such occupation, "except that the occupier in question is Pakistan. In fact, India's reservations about the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor stem from the fact that it passes through Indian territory illegally occupied by Pakistan for many years".
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To Pakistan saying that the Kashmir dispute has remained unresolved, he said: "Pakistan apparently regrets that the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir remains unresolved and that our dialogue has not progressed. If it is so, this is because Pakistan has chosen to disregard its commitments, whether it was under the 1972 Simla Agreement, the 2004 Joint Declaration forswearing terrorism, or more recently, the understanding between our two prime ministers at Ufa. On each occasion, it is India that has extended the hand of friendship. India remains open even today to engage Pakistan on outstanding issues in an atmosphere free of terrorism and violence."
To Pakistan raising the issue of ceasefire violations, which it blamed on India, he said: "The world knows that the primary reason for firing is to provide cover to terrorists crossing the border. It needs no imagination to figure out which side initiates this exchange."
"It is not uncommon for states, when confronted with serious challenges, to shift responsibility on others. That is the case with Pakistan and terrorism, reflecting the inability to recognize that this is a home-grown problem that has begun to bite the hand that fed it. We agree that terrorism has underlying causes - in this case, poverty of wisdom and ignorance of consequences."
"The heart of the matter is a state that regards the use of terrorism as a legitimate instrument of statecraft. The world watches with concern as its consequences have spread beyond its immediate neighbourhood. All of us stand prepared to help, if only the creators of this monster wake up to the dangers of what they have done to themselves," he said.
