India sharply criticized Pakistan after its Defence Minister Khawaja Asif made a candid statement regarding the nation's past deeds in supporting and sponsoring terror groups. India blamed the revelation for again demonstrating Pakistan as a "rogue state" that supports global terrorism and destabilizes the region.
In a strong Right of Reply during the launch of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism's 'Victims of Terrorism Association Network' (VoTAN), India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Yojna Patel berated Pakistan after its mission brought up the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
"It is regrettable that one delegation has abused and discredited this forum to indulge in propaganda and make unfounded allegations against India," Patel stated in her response.
Going back to a TV interview recently, Patel came back to Asif's own admission of Pakistan's support. "The whole world has listened to Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitting and confessing Pakistan's past support, training and financing terror groups in a recent TV interview," she said.
She further added: "This open admission is no surprise and shows Pakistan as a rogue state propagating global terrorism and destabilizing the region. The world can no longer remain blind. I have nothing further to say."
In responding to Sky News in the UK, Asif said, "Well, we have been doing the dirty work for the United States for about three decades, you know, and West, including Britain," when asked about Pakistan's past support for terror organizations.
'Global unity against terrorism'
Patel also pointed to the global solidarity that India witnessed following the Pahalgam attack, crediting it to a mirror of the world's collective front against terrorism.
"The Pahalgam terror attack is the highest price paid by civil lives since the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008," she said.
Having endured years of terrorism across the border, Patel further stated that India realizes the overwhelming impact such violence has on families, communities, and individuals. She stated, "India is deeply grateful for and values the strong and unequivocal condemnation and solidarity expressed by leaders and governments around the world following the recent terrorist attack at Pahalgam, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a testament to the international community's zero tolerance towards terrorism."
The attack, which took place on the 22nd of April, killed 25 Indian citizens and one Nepalese visitor. The tourists were primarily visitors from different parts of India.
World leaders like US President Donald Trump, Vice President J D Vance, Russian President Vladimir Putin, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, France's Emmanuel Macron, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres all denounced the attack and expressed their condolences to India.
Emphasizing Responsibility
Ambassador Patel emphasized the global responsibility for fighting terrorism and called for justice for the victims.
"While making it clear, as the UN Security Council in its statement has said, the guilty of hideous acts of terrorism, their organisers, backers and sponsors, must be held to account and brought to justice," she asserted.
Citing the fact that terrorism does not discriminate against anybody and must be condemned by everybody, she continued, "Terrorist acts are criminal and unjustifiable, wherever, whenever, and by whomever they are committed."
She instilled India's unflinching belief that no rationale for any act of terrorism can ever be permitted on any ground and only by total responsibility justice can be given and arrangements for future acts of terrorism can be discouraged.
Earlier in the day before, the 15-member United Nations Security Council had released a statement denouncing the Pahalgam attack in strongest terms. The council asked the perpetrators to be brought to justice and called upon all nations to meet their international obligation by coming together against terror.
The April 22 attack, on a tourist spot in Pahalgam, killed 26 and injured many more. It was the deadliest terror strike in the Kashmir valley since the Pulwama attack of 2019.
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