Daily Times

Pakistan on Thursday firmly rejected India’s allegations of involvement in terrorism, saying it was ironic for a country that uses the menace as an instrument of state policy against its neighbours to point fingers at others.

“It is surprising to see that this country is lecturing on terrorism when it is itself a state sponsor of terrorism, running a global franchise of assassination campaigns,” Pakistani delegate Gul Qaiser Sarwani told the UN Security Council while responding to the charges leveled by India’s External Affairs Secretary Tanmaya Lal.

The Indian representative, who was was reacting to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s speech during the Council’s debate on ‘Peace for Leadership’ in which the Pakistani leader called for effectively addressing the resurgence of the terrorist threat from Afghanistan, especially from Daesh (ISIL-K) and Fitna al-Khawarij. “The council must call for a halt to the massive violations of the fundamental rights of Kashmiri people and implement its own resolutions that demand a plebiscite for self-determination in Kashmir valley,” the prime minister added.

Responding to the prime minister’s comments, the Indian delegate accused Pakistan of supporting the elaborate terror ecosystem, training and harbouring global terrorists, saying, “It is high time Pakistan ends occupying and commenting other’s territories.”

Exercising his right of reply, Sarwani, the Pakistani delegate, accused India of distorting facts and propagating a false narrative, not only to malign Pakistan, but also to divert attention from it’s internal challenges and grave violations of international law. “Apart from its state terrorism against defenceless people of Indian illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, India is sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan,” Sarwani said.

Pakistan, he said, has solid evidence of Indian sponsorship of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), who have been involved in multiple terrorist activities against civilians and military targets across Pakistan.

“The arrest and conviction of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a serving Indian naval officer and an operative of India’s intelligence agency RAW, is irrefutable evidence of India’s state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan, including targeted assassinations in Pakistan,” the Pakistani delegate went on.

‘Now, the Indian terrorist franchise has gone global with assassinations and attempted murders of political dissidents on North American soil,” he said, adding: “India must end its state-sponsored terrorism, cease its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, and fulfill its obligations under international law.

Sarwani added, “India must be held accountable for its terrorist activities. India’s actions must not go unpunished, and the international community can no longer afford to grant India impunity.”

As regards Kashmir, the Pakistani delegate said that the Kashmir dispute was on the agenda of the Security Council whose resolutions decided that the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir shall be determined by its people through a UN-supervised plebiscite.