'Unworthy To Even Respond': India Rebukes Pakistan For Raising Kashmir Issue At UN Debate On Women

INDIA on Tuesday lambasted Pakistan for raising the issue of Kashmir at a Security Council debate on women, peace, and security. India’s ambassador to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj said that it is “unworthy” to even respond to “malicious and false propaganda” peddled by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Kamboj - who is India’s permanent representative to the UN - described Zardari’s remarks against India, over the issue of Kashmir, as “baseless and politically motivated”.

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"Before I conclude, let me dismiss the frivolous, baseless and politically motivated remarks made by the delegate of Pakistan regarding the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir," she said, adding, "My delegation considers it unworthy to even respond to such malicious and false propaganda."

"Rather, our focus is where it shall always be – positive and forward-looking. Today's discussion is critically important to strengthen our collective efforts to accelerate the full implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. We respect the topic of the debate and recognise the importance of time. As such, our focus shall remain on the topic," Kamboj further said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto raked up the issue of Kashmir during the discussion that was being held on the eve of International Women’s Day under the Presidency of Mozambique for this month. Kamboj’s sharp comments had followed Zaradari’s.

India has, for decades, maintained that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir along with Ladakh is an integral part of India and it shall remain so. India also asserted that it wants to maintain neighbourly relations with Pakistan but insists that the onus for creating a terror-free environment lies with the authorities in Islamabad.

The ties between the two countries, which were one over 7 decades ago, nosedived after Indian warplanes destroyed the training camps of the terrorist organisation Jaish-E-Mohammed in Pakistan’s Balakot in February 2019. The strikes had followed a terrorist attack on the Indian side in Pulwama.

After India scrapped Article 370 which granted Kashmir a special status, relations between the two countries were further strained and most communication channels were snapped.

(With agency inputs)