India reacts strongly to Pakistan bringing up Kashmir at the U.N.

India was exercising its right-of-reply.

India has strongly reacted to Pakistan taking up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations (U.N.), describing the neighbouring country as an “epicentre” of global terrorism and the biggest destabilising force in the world.

Munir Akram, Pakistan’s envoy to the U.N., raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir during the meeting of the General Assembly’s First Committee which deals with disarmament and international security issues. India exercised its right of reply thereafter.

A. Amarnath, Counsellor in India’s Permanent Mission to the U.N., objected to Pakistan on October 4, saying that India did not need advice from a nation that was known for illicit export of nuclear material and technology. “Pakistan’s desperate attempts to peddle falsehoods and habit of abusing the sanctity of multilateral forums deserves our collective contempt,” he said.

“Pakistan has made a number of futile and unsubstantiated allegations against India, including in relation to the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. These do not merit a response, as they pertain to matters internal to India,” Amarnath said.Replying to the Pakistani envoy’s reference to India’s defence arsenal, Amarnath said: “As a responsible state, India strictly abides by its obligations under international treaties and needs no advice from a country which has a proven track record of illicit export of nuclear material and technology.”

“India’s security concerns are not confined to a region and, therefore, India has always approached these issues in a global context,” he said. India had a constructive approach on disarmament matters, he said, whereas Pakistan had always attempted to disrupt them.