India has taken exception to Pakistan digressing from the main issue at a UN session on peacekeeping by raising the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that the region was, is and will remain an integral part of India.
In India’s ‘Right of Reply’ (RoR) at the meet, BJP MP and party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told the august gathering on Monday that J & K recently witnessed proper democratic elections and reprimanded Pakistan for using the platform for non-substantive and misleading purposes.
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His remarks came after the Pakistani delegate sought to discuss the role of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan(UNMOGIP), which monitors the ceasefire along the LoC, and referred to J & K at a meeting of the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee of the UN General Assembly. India has consistently maintained that the UNMOGIP has lost its relevance after the 1972 Shimla Agreement, making the peacekeeping mission redundant. Taking a strong view of the Pakistani delegate’s remarks, Mr Trivedi immediately used the option of ROR and said Pakistan must desist from indulging in rhetoric and falsehood on J & K.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir have recently exercised their democratic and electoral rights and elected a new government. Pakistan must desist from such rhetoric and falsehood because it will not alter the facts. Out of respect for the august members of this forum, India will refrain from responding to any further attempts by Pakistan to use, abuse, the UN procedures,” he said.
On the significance of UN peacekeeping, he noted that the peacekeepers make sacrifices not for national interests but for the benefit of all humanity. He also mentioned a UN resolution supporting the establishment of a memorial wall for fallen peacekeepers at the UN Headquarters, highlighting the importance of ensuring that such a memorial is appropriately honored.
