Pakistani, Indian diplomats clash at UN over Kashmir

Pakistan hit back at India for claiming Jammu and Kashmir to be its integral part, and rejected the allegation that Pakistan’s representative to the UN misrepresented the forum of the UN Disarmament Commission by raising the Kashmir issue on Tuesday.

Responding to Indian representative remarks during the commission’s general debate, Pakistani delegate Gul Qaiser Sarwani said that Jammu and Kashmir was an internationally recognised disputed territory and Pakistani envoy’s remarks were completely relevant to the work of the commission.

In his speech on the first day of 2024 session, Ambassador Akram highlighted that Kashmiris and Palestinians were among the peoples still denied the right to self-determination. He said that India’s aggressive military policies had turned the security environment in South Asia “volatile and explosive”.

Reacting to Ambassador Akram’s speech, the Indian representative claimed that Jammu and Kashmir was an “integral part’ of India, and accused Pakistan of being involved in terrorism. He also alleged that Pakistan was misusing the forum by raising the Kashmir dispute.

Exercising his right to reply, Sarwani said that repeating a wrong position would not make it acceptable. “Let me reaffirm that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised disputed territory and is not, by any means, a so-called integral part of India,” Sarwani said.

“Contrary to India’s assertion, the situation in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir [IIOJK], India’s massive arms build-up, aggressive posturing, and war-fighting doctrines are completely relevant to the Commission’s work, as they carry grave implications for regional and international peace.”

Sarwani said that his country was facing a significant threat of terrorism, which was orchestrated, supported and financed by its eastern neighbour [India], a well-known state sponsor of terrorism whose terrorist network had gone global, reaching countries far beyond its borders.

He expressed Pakistan’s concerns over India’s emphasis on the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), which affected Pakistan’s national security interests. He called for flexibility and compromise from all delegations to break the longstanding deadlock in the Conference on Disarmament (CD).

The Pakistani delegate also called on the international community to address attempts to undermine regional peace and security, emphasising their direct impact on prospects for disarmament at both regional and global levels.