Strongly hitting back at Pakistan for raising in the United Nations the issue of the killing of Hizb-ul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, India has said Pakistan “extols” the “virtues” of terrorists and uses terrorism as a state policy towards the “misguided end” of coveting the territory of others.
India’s Ambassador to the UN Syed Akbaruddin responded strongly to the remarks made by Pakistan’s envoy Maleeha Lodhi on Kashmir and Wani’s killing during a debate on human rights in the 193-member UN General Assembly here on Wednesday.
In her statement, Ms. Lodhi, besides raising the Kashmir issue, also mentioned the “extra-judicial” killing of Wani, whom she described as a “Kashmiri leader”, by Indian forces.
Ms. Lodhi, who has regularly raised the issue of Kashmir at various U.N. fora, termed Wani’s killing as the “most chilling recent example” of “human rights violations” by Indian forces in Kashmir.
Alleging that the denial of self-determination to Kashmiri people had led to arbitrary detentions, summary executions and other “atrocious” violations, she said, “Its most chilling recent example is the extra-judicial killing last week of a Kashmiri leader, Burhan Wani, shot to death by Indian forces along with dozens of other innocent Kashmiris.”
In his statement, which sources here termed as perhaps the hardest-hitting against Pakistan in recent times, Mr. Akbaruddin said it is regrettable that Pakistan attempted to “misuse” the U.N. platform.
“Regrettably, earlier today we have seen an attempt at misuse of this U.N. platform. The attempt came from Pakistan; a country that covets the territory of others; a country that uses terrorism as state policy towards that misguided end; a country that extols the virtues of terrorists and that provides sanctuary to U.N.-designated terrorists; and a country that masquerades its efforts as support for human rights and self determination,” he said.
“The international community has long seen through such designs. Cynical attempts, like the one this morning therefore, find no resonance in this forum or elsewhere in the United Nations,” he noted.
Mr. Akbaruddin asserted that Pakistan’s “track record” failed to convince the international community that it should gain membership of the Human Rights Council in this very session of the UNGA.
“We remain strongly committed to the promotion and protection of all human rights for all through pursuit of dialogue and cooperation,” he added.
Over 30 people have been killed and more than 250 injured in clashes between protesters and security personnel after Wani’s killing last week.
The U.N. has expressed concern over the tensed situation in Kashmir, with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling on all parties to exercise “maximum restraint to avoid further violence and hopes that all concerns would be addressed through peaceful means.”
