UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22:
In its sharpest attack on Pakistan, India today called it a “terrorist state” which carries out “war crimes” by using terrorism as an “instrument of state policy”, after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif glorified Hizbul commander Burhan Wani at the United Nations.
India also strongly rejected Sharif’s call for “a serious and sustained” bilateral dialogue “without any conditions”, saying that Pakistan, which “seems to be run by a war machine rather than a government”, wants talks with a “gun in its hand”.
Strongly reacting to Sharif’s remarks at the UN General Assembly session, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar described them as full of “threat, bluster and complete disregard of facts” as he said glorification of Wani by him at the world forum is an act of “self-incrimination” by Pakistan.
He said it is “shocking” that a leader of a nation can “glorify a self-declared self-advertised terrorist” at a forum such as the United Nations General Assembly.
“We heard the glorification of a terrorist. Burhan Wani was a self-declared commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, this organisation is widely acknowledged internationally as a terrorist group,” Akbar said at a briefing to Indian reporters here responding to Sharif’s General Debate address at the UN.
“This is self-incrimination by the Pakistan Prime Minister. We just heard a speech full of threat, bluster and what can only be described as rising immaturity and complete disregard of facts,” he said.
In his nearly 20-minute speech, almost half of which was focussed on Kashmir, Sharif had hailed Wani – who was killed on July 8 by the Indian forces resulting in tensions in the Valley – as a “young leader” and the “symbol” of the Kashmiris’ freedom movement.
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 made a strong rebuttal.
“The worst violation of human rights is terrorism.
“When practiced as an instrument of state policy it is a war crime,” she said.
“What my country and our other neighbours are facing today is Pakistan’s long-standing policy of sponsoring terrorism, the consequences of which have spread well beyond our region,” she added.
Gambhir said India sees in Pakistan “a terrorist state” which channelises billions of dollars, much of it diverted from international aid, to training, financing and supporting terrorist groups as militant proxies against it neighbours.
In a reference to JeM chief Masood Azhar and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, she said terrorist entities and their leaders, including many designated by the UN, continue to roam the streets of Pakistan freely and operate with State’s support.
“With the approval of authorities, many terrorist organisations raise funds openly in flagrant violation of Pakistan’s international obligations,” Gambhir said.
“Even today we have heard support by the Prime Minister of Pakistan for a self-acknowledged commander of a known terrorist organisation,” she said.
She said while Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation record is marked by “deception and deceit,” it talks about restraint, renunciation and peace.
“Similar false promises it has made to us – the international community – on terrorism. Perhaps renunciation of lies and self-restraint on threats could be a good place for Pakistan to start,” Gambhir said.
Akbar said: “Pakistan at this moment seems to be run by a war machine rather than a government. Pakistan wants dialogue while holding a terrorist gun in its hand. Talks and guns don’t go together.
“Our position on a dialogue has been consistent. We have always been ready for a dialogue but we will not succumb to the blackmail tactics of the government in Islamabad that seems eager to use terrorists and terrorism as policy.”
Sharif had said that Islamabad is open to discuss “all measures of restraint and responsibility” with India, in “any forum or format and without any conditions” but blamed India for posing “unacceptable preconditions” to engage in a dialogue.
Gambhir said Pakistan was a “democracy deficit” country and “practises terrorism on its own people”.
“It extends support to extremist groups, it suppresses minorities and women and denies basic human rights including through draconian laws,” she added.
Gambhir voiced India’s firm resolve to protect all its citizens from all acts of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and said “we cannot and will not allow terrorism to prevail”.
She 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.
She also noted that the land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centres of ancient times, “is now host to the Ivy League of terrorism” and attracts aspirants and apprentices from all over the world.
“The effect of its toxic curriculum are felt across the globe,” she said, adding that it is ironical that a country which has established itself as the global epicentre of terrorism, is preaching human rights and talks about the ostensible support for self-determination.
She also told the UN General Assembly that shortly before Pakistan gave its “hypocritical sermons” in the world body, its envoy in New Delhi was summoned in the context of the most recent of the terror attacks in Uri that claimed 18 Indian lives.
“That terrorist attack is part of a trail of continuous flow of terrorists trained and armed by our neighbour and tasked to carry out terrorist attacks in my country,” she said.
In New Delhi, unlike in the case of Pathankot terror attack, India’s offer to Pakistan to verify involvement of its nationals in the Uri terror strike will be “limited” to providing finger prints and DNA samples of terrorists killed in the incident.
Briefing reporters a day after Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit and issued a demarche over the Uri attack, MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said “irrefutable evidence” was shown to the envoy that points to the involvement of Pak-based groups and individuals or territory under Pakistan control.
Noting that the Foreign Secretary conveyed details of the various items that had been recovered from the terrorists, he said, Jaishankar “showed the Pakistan High Commissioner the GPS tracking devices, pictures of Pakistan made grenades and the finger prints of one of the terrorists.
“Foreign Secretary offered that in case the Government of Pakistan wishes to investigate these cross-border attacks, we are ready to provide finger prints and DNA samples of terrorists killed in the Uri and Poonch incidents.
“I would like to underline that our offer is limited to providing finger prints and DNA evidence to Pakistan so that Pakistan can verify it against their national database (NADRA) and confirm that the terrorists who attacked the Indian facilities were indeed Pakistani nationals,” implying thereby, that no Pakistan team will not be allowed in Uri unlike the Pathankot strike when a probe team from there had visited the attack site.
Foreign Secretary had also underlined that this terrorist attack was the most recent in a series launched from across the border that has steadily escalated in recent weeks.
Jaishankar also listed some of the incidents including a foiled infiltration bid in Nowgam sector on July 30 that resulted in the death of two terrorists and two Indian soldiers, one along LoC in Macchil sector on August 8 resulting in the death of three BSF personnel and one terrorist, and an encounter in Srinagar on August 15 in which a CRPF commandant was killed and 11 CRPF personnel were injured.
The nature and frequency of this infiltration across the LoC of heavily-armed terrorists charged with attacking Indian targets bely the claim of the Pakistani DGMO that the border has ‘water-tight arrangements’ from the Pakistani side, the Foreign Secretary conveyed to Basit.
“On the contrary, such bids cannot be continuously mounted without the active and collaborative support of Pakistani security forces,” he told the Pakistan envoy.
Swarup said, “It is, of course, widely known that the training and arming of terrorists is freely taking place in Pakistan and Indian territory under its control.
“Acknowledged leaders of terrorist organisations have also been given free rein and parade around even in Islamabad. Such terrorism is not only directed against India but is now increasingly recognised as a larger regional concern.”
The Foreign Secretary also reminded Basit of the capture of Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali “to whom we had even offered consular access to Pakistan”.
Meanwhile, the 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty today cropped up in the current hostile Indo-Pak discourse with India making it clear that “mutual trust and cooperation” was important for such a treaty to work.
The assertion came amid calls in India that Government should scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of audacious Uri terror attack earlier this week.
“For any such treaty to work, its important that there must be mutual cooperation and trust between both the sides. It cannot be a one-sided affair,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson said cryptically when asked if the Government will rethink on the Treaty given the growing strain between the two countries.
He also noted that the preamble of the Treaty itself said it was based on “goodwill”.
Pressed further if India will scrap the Treaty, he refused to elaborate and only noted that in diplomacy everything was not spelled out and that he has not said that the treaty was not working.
Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river – Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum – were to be shared between the two countries. Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in couple of cases.
Swarup also noted that there were differences over the implementation of the treaty between the two countries. (PTI)
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