India on Saturday sharply criticised Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's address to the United Nations General Assembly, in which he raised the Kashmir issue.
Exercising the right of reply, India said Pakistan coveted Indian territory and had used terrorism to disrupt elections in Jammu and Kashmir, an inalienable and integral part of India.
"As the world knows, Pakistan has long employed cross-border terrorism as a weapon against its neighbours," said Indian diplomat Bhavika Mangalanandan. "It has attacked our parliament, our financial capital, Mumbai, marketplaces, and pilgrimage routes. The list is long. For such a country to speak about violence anywhere is hypocrisy at its worst."
Mangalanandan added that it was "extraordinary" for a country with a history of rigged elections to talk about political choices in a democracy.
Sharif, in his speech to the UNGA on Friday, compared the situation in Jammu and Kashmir to that of Palestine, saying the people had "struggled for a century for their freedom and right to self-determination." He called on India to reverse the abrogation of Article 370, which removed Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, and urged dialogue in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and the “wishes of the Kashmiri people."
The Pakistani PM also claimed New Delhi had rejected Islamabad's proposal for a mutual strategic restraint regime, accusing Indian leadership of threatening to cross the Line of Control (LoC) into what Pakistan refers to as "Azad Kashmir."
India responded by reiterating its position that terror and talks cannot go together, dismissing Sharif's comments on strategic restraint.
"There can be no compact with terrorism. Pakistan should realise that cross-border terrorism against India will inevitably invite consequences," said the Indian representative.
India also criticised Pakistan's human rights record, referencing the 1971 genocide and the ongoing persecution of minorities, saying it was "ridiculous" for such a nation to speak about intolerances and phobias.
"The world can see for itself what Pakistan really is," India said, pointing to Pakistan's past association with notorious terrorist Osama bin Laden and its involvement in terror incidents across the world.
Terming Sharif’s comments "unacceptable", India stated that Pakistan's efforts to counter the truth with lies would not change the reality. "Our stand is clear and needs no reiteration," Mangalanandan added.
