India on Friday strongly criticized Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over his remarks on Kashmir during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), calling it “hypocrisy at its worst.”

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India pointed out that Pakistan, a country with a long history of employing cross-border terrorism against its neighbors, was lecturing on violence. While delivering India’s Right to Reply at the ongoing UNGA session, the country’s First Secretary to the UN, Bhavika Mangalanandan, said, “Pakistan has long employed cross-border terrorism as a weapon against its neighbors… It (Pakistan) has attacked our parliament, our financial capital Mumbai, marketplaces, and pilgrimage routes. The list is long.”

Continuing, she said, “For such a country to speak about violence anywhere is hypocrisy at its worst. It is even more extraordinary for a country with a history of rigged elections to talk about political choices, especially in a democracy.” The Indian diplomat described it as a “travesty” that a nation run by its military, with a global reputation for terrorism, dared to criticise the world’s largest democracy. She also condemned Pakistan for using terrorism to disrupt elections in Jammu and Kashmir, reiterating that the region is “an inalienable and integral part of India.”

“The truth is that Pakistan covets our territory and has continuously used terrorism to disrupt elections in Jammu and Kashmir, an inalienable and integral part of India. A reference has been made to some proposals of strategic restraint,” she said.”This assembly regrettably witnessed a travesty this morning. A country run by the military, with a global reputation for terrorism, narcotics trade, and transnational crime, has had the audacity to attack the world’s largest democracy,” she remarked.

Her strong rebuttal came in response to Pakistan PM’s call to raise the Kashmir issue at the UNGA. Sharif urged India to reverse the abrogation of Article 370 and demanded that New Delhi engage in dialogue with Islamabad for the “peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue.”

“Let me state in no uncertain terms, Pakistan will respond most decisively to any Indian aggression. Therefore, to secure durable peace, India must reverse the unilateral and illegal measures it has taken since August 5, 2019, and enter into a dialogue for the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” said.