Ashish Ranjan
India Slams Pak Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Kashmir Remarks: India criticised Pakistan after its foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari brought up the Jammu and Kashmir dispute during a Security Council debate on women, peace, and security, stating that it is “unworthy” to respond to such “malicious and false propaganda.”
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, responded to Zardari’s comments on Jammu and Kashmir by describing them as “baseless and politically motivated.”She was quoted by PTI as saying, “Before I conclude, let me disregard the frivolous, baseless, and politically motivated remarks made by the delegate of Pakistan regarding the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Kamboj stated during an open debate of the UN Security Council, “My delegation considers it beneath us to respond to such malevolent and false propaganda.”
“Rather, we will always maintain a positive and forward-looking perspective. The importance of today’s discussion to our collective efforts to accelerate the full implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda cannot be overstated. We respect the subject of the discussion and recognise the value of time. Consequently, our attention will remain on the subject,” she added.
This month, on the eve of International Women’s Day, Kamboj responded angrily to Pakistani Foreign Minister Zardari’s mention of Jammu and Kashmir during a Council debate conducted by Mozambique’s Presidency. India has repeatedly informed Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are and will continue to be an integral component of India.
India has emphasised its desire for normal, neighbourly relations with Pakistan, but Islamabad must first create an environment devoid of terrorism and hostility to facilitate such a relationship.
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Since India launched airstrikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot in response to the Pulwama terror attack in February 2019, the relationship between India and Pakistan has been severely strained. Since India terminated Jammu and Kashmir’s special powers and divided the former state into Union Territories in August 2019, the relationship has deteriorated further.
