Tearing apart Pakistan’s allegations of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, India on Wednesday retorted that a country that has become the epicentre of global terrorism shoul not lecture others on human rights.
Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and shall forever remain an integral part of India, senior Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup said that the situation in the region is “quite normal despite Pakistan’s best efforts over decades to destabilise it through externally-instigated terror”.
Vikas Swarup made these remarks while addressing the 43rd session of the UNHRC in Geneva. He was responding to Pakistan human rights minister Shireen Mazari’s allegations about human rights abuses in Kashmir.
“Speaking of terrorism, it is only logical to respond to the remarks made by the delegation of Pakistan, which is the epicentre of global terrorism. It is more than a little ironical that the nation that has become the world’s leading exporter of terror and violence seeks to lecture others about human rights. Nonetheless, let me set the record straight on the issues raised,” Vikas Swarup said.
“Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and shall forever remain an integral part of India. The transformative changes brought by our Parliament in last August were meant to strengthen the integration of the (erstwhile) state, including to give full play to representative government from the grassroots level upward,” he added.
Justifying the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Vikas Swaroop said that it was intended to ensure the extension of all progressive legislation passed for the entire country to cover this region, and to resume the pace of socio-economic development in the Union Territory of J&K.
He also added that these measures have already started showing positive results, adding the situation on the ground was quite normal despite Pakistan’s best efforts over decades to destabilise the state through externally-instigated terror and a campaign of canards and untruth.
Without naming Pakistan, the Indian diplomat urged the world community to take decisive action against those who direct, control, fund, or shelter terrorists.
“As a nation that has suffered for decades from cross-border terrorism, India calls for decisive action against those who direct, control, fund, or shelter terrorists,” Swarup said.
“We are happy to note that the HRC advisory committee is working on a report on this issue. We remain ready to work with all partners to fully stop all support from reaching terrorists, denying terrorists access to safe havens, and extraditing and bringing to justice perpetrators of terrorism and their supporters,” he added.
