Responding to Pakistan’s “unwarranted references” to Jammu and Kashmir, India’s Permanent Representative, P Harish warned Islamabad against “peddling false and biased narratives” during a United Nations General Assembly session
Reaffirming that all issues related to Jammu and Kashmir are strictly India’s internal affairs, Harish said, ” the Union Territory “is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India”. “Any assertions to the contrary are baseless, devoid of and inconsistent with historical facts. Empty rhetoric and hollow claims by Pakistan would not change this fundamental reality.”
He was responding to references made by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, to the Union Territory during the discussion on the Council’s Annual Report before the United Nations General Assembly.
Reminding the “huge responsibility” associated with being a member of the UN Security Council, Harish said, “Pakistan has decided not to spare this forum either from their characteristic misuse of august UN platforms for their divisive political interests.”
Pakistan’s two-year tenure as an elected member of the UN Security Council ends this year.
New Delhi’s protest over Gilgit Baltistan
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) lodged a strong protest over Pakistan’s decision to conduct general elections to the so-called Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly on June 7, reiterating that the region is Indian territory that has been “illegally and forcibly” occupied.
“The government of India further emphasised that such endeavours by Pakistan cannot mask the underlying issues of grave human rights violations, political repression, economic exploitation and denial of freedom in territories illegally occupied by Pakistan,” it said in a statement.
“The government of India categorically rejects any attempts by Pakistan to bring material change to areas under Pakistan’s illegal occupation, and underlines that such actions cannot hide the fact that Pakistan illegally remains in possession of Indian territories, which it must vacate,” the ministry said.
Later, Pakistan dismissed India’s remarks, with the Foreign Office stating that Islamabad “categorically rejects India’s baseless remarks regarding the upcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan”.
