'Kashmir is not part of India, never was and never will be'

Pakistan on Saturday categorically stated at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that Kashmir is not a part of India, it never was and it never will be.

Exercising Pakistan's right of reply to the statement by the representative of India at the session, Pakistan's representative Zulqarnain Chheena said India has no claim to Jammu and Kashmir than that of a military occupier.

The representative reiterated that the state of Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory.

Chheena maintained that as per the Security Council, the final disposition of the disputed territory will be made according to the will of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

He added that the democratic method through which the people of IIOJ&K will obtain their freedom will be conducted by the United Nations and further stated that the people of the region have the right to resist Indian occupation.

"Kashmir will be free one day. This is not only a lesson of history, it is also an imperative of justice."

The diplomat reaffirmed Pakistan's support for the struggle of Kashmiris. "The people of Pakistan, people of the Islamic world, indeed, all freedom-loving people, are with the Kashmiris."

India's tirade was another failed attempt to divert attention from the atrocities committed by the armed forces in the disputed region, the representative added.

The representative also exposed New Delhi for actively partaking in orchestrating, financing and providing logistical support to terrorist organisations including the proscribed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaatul Ahrar to target Islamabad from across the country's borders.

"Commander Kulbhushan Jadav, an Indian intelligence agent, captured by Pakistan, has confessed that he was organising and supporting these criminal groups to perpetrate terrorism in Pakistan," he added.

At the start of his reply. the diplomat expressed hope that his Indian counterpart would not run away as his colleague did earlier.

Earlier, the Indian delegate, perturbed by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s annual UNGA speech, walked out of the hall as soon as his pre-recorded video statement began broadcasting on Friday.

In his speech, PM Imran took aim at his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi saying his government in line with RSS ideology was set to marginalise minority communities particularly Muslims of the country.

He also urged the UN Security Council to take note of the atrocities being committed by Indian forces in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and urged New Delhi to repeal its unilateral measure of revoking the special status of the occupied territory and end its military siege.

India, the premier said, was playing a dangerous game of upping the ante against Pakistan in the nuclearised environment. Despite repeated provocations along the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistan has exercised maximum restraint, he added.

Following Imran Khan’s address, TS Tirumurti, India’s permanent representative to the UN, tweeted that the country would use the “right of reply” facility to respond to the Pakistani premier’s address.

“PM of Pakistan statement a new diplomatic low – at 75th UN General Assembly. Another litany of vicious falsehood, personal attacks, war-mongering and obfuscation of Pakistan’s persecution of its own minorities & of its cross-border terrorism. Befitting Right of Reply awaits,” Tirumurti according to Hindustan Times report said in his tweet.

PM Imran’s Indian counterpart Narendra Modi is expected to address the UN General Assembly through a video statement on Saturday.