Sushma Swaraj to deliver stinging reply to Pak at UN today

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj is all set to deliver a stinging reply to Pakistan on Monday in her speech at the UN General Assembly, even as Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif — jittery over India raising human rights violations in Balochistan — has claimed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would bring economic benefits “specially to Balochistan”. Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit, meanwhile, told an Indian media publication that the people of Balochistan were “patriotic” towards Pakistan and referred to Baloch dissidents as “misguided elements”, alleging that while “there may be some socio-economic issues” in that province, it should not be used to “divert attention” from other issues by “adding it to the list” of India-Pakistan issues.

In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tough talk on the Uri attack, Mr Basit also claimed that Pakistan “has nothing to do with the Uri attack”, saying Pakistan would not allow its territory to be used for terror attacks. While the Pakistani claim rings hollow in the wake of several cross-border attacks, the high commissioner also referred to the Indian offer of presenting evidence of the Pakistani hand in the attacks as “premature”.

Mr Basit also said the two countries should “not allow war hysteria to dominate our narrative”, adding while the two countries were in a “tough phase”, he did not believe they were heading for war and that peace was the only option.

When it was pointed out how Pakistan was hailing slain Hizbul militant Burhan Wani as a Kashmiri “leader”, the high commissioner tried to sidestep the issue, saying: “It is not about Burhan Wani, it is about Kashmir”. India said earlier Pakistan’s support to Wani was clear evidence of Pakistani support to terrorism.

The high commissioner also made it clear that the events of July 8, when Wani was shot dead by Indian security forces, and the unrest in Kashmir that followed had derailed the cooperation and dialogue between the two countries till then. But Mr Basit’s words are hardly balm for India, wounded by the cross-LoC Uri terror attack by Pakistani terrorists that left 18 Indian Army soldiers dead.

Amid speculation of a possible tactical response by the Indian Army in the months ahead, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj is bound to mount a diplomatic offensive on Monday at the UN to isolate Pakistan globally, where she is expected to raise the issue of Pakistani support to terrorism in J&K and Pakistan’s own dismal human rights record in Balochistan.