India tore into Pakistan after its foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, broached the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at a Security Council debate on ‘Women, Peace and Security.’
Responding to his remarks on the Indian union territory, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj on Tuesday said that it is ‘unworthy’ to even respond to such ‘malicious and false propaganda.’
She termed his statement as baseless and politically motivated. Speaking at the open debate, Ruchira Kamboj remarked, “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.”
“My delegation considers it unworthy to even respond to such malicious and false propaganda,” she added.
“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 recognize the importance of time. As such, our focus shall remain on the topic,” she stated.
On the eve of International Women’s Day, at the Council debate held under Mozambique’s President for this month, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Zardari made a pointed reference to Jammu and Kashmir, earning a sharp retort from Ms. Kamboj. “The most egregious atrocities and crimes against women and girls occur in situations of foreign occupation and suppression of the right to self-determination to peoples,” he said at the Security Council debate on ‘Women, Peace and Security.’
Calling for the establishment of a monitoring mechanism for crimes committed against women and girls in territories under foreign occupation, Zardari had said, “To ensure implementation of the WPS strategy, it is essential to establish a monitoring mechanism for crimes committed against women and girls in territories under foreign occupation, including Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,”
India has formerly conveyed, that the entire territories of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are, and shall always be part of India, to Pakistan.
The country has continued to reiterate that it wants to have friendly relations with its hostile neighbor Pakistan, on a normal basis and that Islamabad has the responsibility of fostering such a relationship in a setting free from terror and animosity.
