In a pointed exchange at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), India and Pakistan clashed over the longstanding Kashmir dispute.
Pakistan's interim Prime Minister, Anwar Ul Haq Kakar, raised the Kashmir issue during his address to the UNGA, stating, "Pakistan desires peaceful and productive relations with all our neighbors, including India," while emphasizing that "Kashmir is the key to peace between Pakistan and India."
India's First Secretary at the United Nations for the Second Committee of UNGA, Petal Gahlot, responded resolutely, asserting, "Pakistan has become a habitual offender when it comes to misusing this August forum to peddle baseless and malicious propaganda against India," and stressing that Pakistan had no standing to comment on India's domestic affairs. Gahlot also highlighted concerns about Pakistan's human rights record and its support for internationally proscribed terrorist entities.
Gahlot went on to emphasize that "the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India. Matters pertaining to the UTs of J&K and Ladakh are purely internal to India. Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on our domestic matters." She also drew attention to the dire condition of minorities in Pakistan, citing examples of violence against Christians and Ahmadiyas and the plight of women from minority communities.
Additionally, Gahlot pointed out a recent report by Pakistan's own Human Rights Commission, revealing alarming figures of abductions, forced conversions, and marriages of women from minority communities in Pakistan. She reiterated that Pakistan has been home to a significant number of internationally proscribed terrorist entities and individuals.
Gahlot called upon Pakistan to take credible and verifiable action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks. She outlined three essential actions for peace in South Asia: ending cross-border terrorism, vacating Indian territories under illegal occupation, and ceasing human rights violations against minorities within Pakistan.
