Pakistan a terrorist state which commits war crimes: India at UNGA

Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif glorified slain Hizbul militant Burhan Wani as a 'young leader'.

United Nations: Replying to Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, India hit back at its neighbour, accusing it of ‘war crime’ by sponsoring terrorism as state policy.

Exercising India's Right of Reply to Sharif's "long tirade" about the situation in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Eenam Gambhir said "the worst violation of human rights is terrorism."

Gambhir reminded the UN that the trail of the most "horrifying" and "dastardly terror attack" of 9/11 led all the way to Abbottabad in Pakistan, where Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been hiding for years and was killed by US forces.

“The land of Taxila is now host to the Ivy League of terrorism. It attracts aspirants and apprentices from all over world. The effects of its toxic curriculum are felt across the globe” she said at the UNGA in response to Pakistan.

India said it was surprising that a country which was the global epicentre of terrorism was preaching human rights in Kashmir and self-determination for its people.

“Pakistan is a terrorist state which channelises billions of dollars, much of it diverted from international aid, to raining, financing and supporting terrorist groups as militant proxies against its neighbours,” Gambhir said on India's behalf.

Terrorist entities and their leaders, many of whom the UN has designated as terrorists, continue to roam Pakistan’s streets freely and operate with State support, India said.

With approval of authorities, many terrorist organization raise funds openly in flagrant violation of Pakistan's international obligation, Gambhir added.

“Even today we heard support by the Pakistan PM for a self acknowledged commander of known terrorist org Hizbul Mujahideen,” said India referring to Nawaz Sharif’s praise for Burhan Wani.

Gambhir said India was committed to protecting all our citizens from all acts of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Taking a dig at Pakistan, Gambhir said, “We've heard Pakistan whose nuclear proliferation record is marked by deceit, talking about restraint, renunciation and peace. Perhaps renunciation of lies and self restraint on threats could be a good place for Pakistan to start.”

India emphasised that Pakistan had made false promises on combating terrorism over and over again, to it and to the international community.

Earlier, raking up Kashmir at the UN, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday glorified slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani as a "young leader" even as he expressed readiness for a "serious and sustained dialogue" with India for peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, especially Jammu and Kashmir.

Sharif devoted much of his 20-minute speech at the UN General Assembly session to Kashmir and the current situation in the valley and said Pakistan "fully supports the demand of the Kashmiri people for self-determination". He demanded an "independent inquiry into the extrajudicial killings" and a UN fact-finding mission to Kashmir "so that those guilty of these atrocities are punished."

Insisting that peace and normalisation between Pakistan and India cannot be achieved without a resolution of the Kashmir dispute, Sharif made a number of allegations with regard to the current unrest in the valley.

India has blamed Pakistan for engineering and fuelling the unrest. While talking about the situation in Kashmir, the Pakistan Prime Minister referred to Wani, who was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8, as a "young leader" and said he has "emerged as the symbol of the latest Kashmiri Intifada, a popular and peaceful freedom movement..."

(This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle)