‘Terrorism will inevitably have consequences’

At the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), India denounced Pakistan’s attempt to raise the Jammu and Kashmir issue, terming it “hypocrisy” from a country with “a global reputation in field of terrorism’. On Friday, Bhavika Mangalanandan, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, issued an emphatic Right to Reply to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s comments in which he had urged India to reverse the abrogation of Article 370 and engage in dialogue.

Mangalanandan called out Pakistan for trying to undermine Indian democracy, while itself being ruled by the military and having a long history of terrorism. “The truth is that Pakistan covets our territory and has continuously used terrorism to disrupt the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, an inalienable and integral part of India,” she stated, as quoted by news agency ANI.

#WATCH | At the UNGA, Indian diplomat Bhavika Mangalanandan responds to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif: “This meeting unfortunately witnessed a travesty this morning. A country ruled by the military, with a global reputation for terrorism, narcotics, trafficking and transnational crime, has… pic.twitter.com/ZpHxE6a5Py

— ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2024

Responding directly to Sharif’s claims, the Indian diplomat noted: “This meeting unfortunately witnessed a travesty this morning. A country led by its military, with a global reputation for terrorism, narcotics, trafficking and transnational crime, has had the audacity to attack the world’s largest democracy.” Mangalanandan also highlighted Pakistan’s use of terrorism to derail the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, referring to the attacks on the Indian Parliament in 2001 and Mumbai in 2008.

She added: “Pakistan has long used cross-border terrorism as a weapon against its neighbors. If such a country talks about violence anywhere, that is hypocrisy at its worst.” Mangalanandan also drew attention to Pakistan’s history of rigged elections and said it was “extraordinary” for such a country to criticize India’s political choices in a democracy.

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Pakistan must realize that cross-border terrorism against India will have consequences: India at the UN

The Indian diplomat pointed to past atrocities in Pakistan, citing the 1971 genocide in Bangladesh and the persecution of minorities. “It is ridiculous that a country that committed genocide in 1971 and continues to persecute its minorities even today dares to talk about bigotry and phobias,” she said, adding that Pakistan had harbored Osama bin Laden, a key figure behind the global terrorism.

She emphasized that India’s position on terrorism was clear: “There can be no deal with terrorism. Pakistan must realize that cross-border terrorism against India will inevitably have consequences.”

Earlier, during his speech, Shehbaz Sharif had accused India of expanding its military capabilities against Pakistan and taking unilateral steps in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. He called for reversal of these steps and alleged that they were illegal. under UN Security Council resolutions.

However, India has consistently maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country and that Pakistan must stop supporting terrorism if bilateral ties are to normalize. After the Pulwama attack in 2019, India made it clear that terror and talks cannot coexist, and has since presented evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in supporting terrorist groups at various international forums.