NEW YORK: Islamabad hit back following New Delhi described occupied Jammu and Kashmir as its “integral and inalienable part” during a UNSC debate on children and armed conflict, saying India was deluding itself by “stubbornly holding on to this legal fiction.” Pakistani delegate Rabia Ijaz told the UNSC, “The reality is clear, Jammu and Kashmir remains a disputed territory, as recognized by UNSC resolutions demanding a free and fair referendum under UN auspices to determine its future”.
Rabia Ijaz was replying to an Indian representative’s remarks about Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh while reacting to Pakistan envoy Munir Akram’s earlier statement in which he exposed New Delhi’s atrocities against children in the disputed Himalayan State with figures and facts.
Detailing the condition of children in the occupied territories, where human rights violations are “tragically routine”, the Pakistani envoy told the UNSC, “Generations of Kashmiri children have grown up amid fear of violence and repression under foreign occupation.”
Ijaz, the Pakistani delegate, accused the Indian ambassador of evading the facts presented by Ambassador Munir Akram, “opting instead to present worn-out and fabricated assertions before the UNSC.” She added that their reluctance to engage with the truth must be a source of embarrassment,”.
Ms. Ijaz alleged New Delhi of neglecting its own abysmal track record of grave violations against children in Kashmir and the important recommendations contained in last year’s report of the UN Secretary-General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict for protecting Kashmiri children, including ending the use of force and pellet guns, minimizing custody, and preventing abuse.
Referring to the children having been killed and subjected to violence in Pakistan in recent years, she said they were largely suffered due to the terrorist attacks in the country. She said that Indian occupying forces have been responsible for grave violations against children in IIOJK, TTP and BLA have been behind the terrorist attacks against kids in Pakistan including the cowardly terrorist attack against the Army Public School in 2014 in Peshawar claiming the lives of over 130 innocent children.
The Pakistani delegate said that they have shared concrete evidence that banned TTP and BLA have been financed and supported by Indian agencies. The arrested Indian spy, an intelligence officer, Commander Kulbhushan Yadav, has also confessed to India’s support to such terrorist and subversive activities.
Ms. Ijaz stated that Indian occupation forces’ measures to suppress protests and demands for fundamental freedoms in Kashmir were well-documented by the UN human rights office and other HR organizations. She said that India continued to deny fundamental rights to people of Kashmir, particularly the right to self-determination in clear violation of Article 25 of the UN Charter and numerous UNSC resolutions. Indian state terrorism in IIOJK will not be able to dampen
Pakistan has said that India has mastered the art of ignoring, evading & twisting facts & habitually churning out lies by presenting ‘worn-out & clichéd assertions’ before the Security Council. This reluctance to engage with truth should be a source of embarrassment for New Delhi pic.twitter.com/wsYh7h5EA1
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN (@PakistanUN_NY) June 28, 2024
