Mr. President,
I am taking the floor to respond to the remarks delivered by the Minister for External Affairs of India earlier today.
It is most ironic that India, which is committing the worst form of state terrorism in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, while also actively engaging in sponsoring terrorism abroad, is portraying itself as the victim. It is a familiar ploy of all occupiers and colonisers to paint legitimate struggles for freedom and liberation as terrorism. India is failing to grasp the enormity of the indigenous Kashmiri resistance against its stranglehold, and wrongly blaming it on cross-border terrorism. It must introspect and reflect, and immediately implement the Security Council resolutions which provide for the Kashmiris to exercise their right to self-determination.
It is India which supports and finances terrorism against Pakistan using its proxies. Pakistan has provided irrefutable evidence to the UN Security Council of India’s involvement in terrorist activities against my country. India’s campaign to damage and destroy Pakistan’s economy is no secret, including by impeding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the sponsorship of terrorist groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Majeed Brigade. India is also supporting terrorism in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.
Mr. President,
India’s assassination campaign against its dissidents residing overseas has been exposed in Canada and the United States, while its leaders publicly boast of murdering their citizens abroad.
It is India which seeks expansion of territory through unilateral measures to consolidate its occupation of Jammu and Kashmir in gross violation of international law; and crass threats to cross the Line of Control (LOC) to “take over” the liberated territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Mr. President,
India’s military build up in nuclear, conventional, new and destabilizing weapons are mainly deployed against Pakistan. India is pursuing highly dangerous war fighting doctrines to engage in a conventional military confrontation with Pakistan under the “nuclear overhang”. This, despite the humiliation suffered by India during it’s last ill-advised military adventurism against Pakistan – in February 2019 – with 2 fighter jets lost and a captured pilot who was released by Pakistan after Indian pleas.
Mr. President
India’s quest for regional hegemony is not limited to posturing against Pakistan only, but is also evident by its meddling in the internal affairs of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
The hubris and the grandiose perceptions being harboured by India – coupled with its fast growing aggressive military capabilities – are a clear and present danger for international and regional peace and security. India needs to be reined in before its too late.
India must be held accountable for its violations of international law in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir; for state terrorism in the occupied territory; and for sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan.
Editor: Kamran Raja