India slams Pakistan on raising Kashmir issue at UN, says it has become their habit to misuse any forum for ‘narrow political gains’

United Nations: India has slammed Pakistan for raising the Kashmir issue at a UN General Assembly session, asserting that the right to self-determination cannot be abused to undermine a nation’s territorial integrity and that it has become Islamabad’s habit to misuse any forum for ‘narrow political gains’.

First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Paulomi Tripathi was responding to Pakistani envoy Maleeha Lodhi’s remarks at the session that the struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination has been suppressed for decades.

Pakistani envoy Lodhi said that the Kashmir issue will remain on “the UN agenda until the Kashmiri people are allowed to exercise their will, according to the agreed method prescribed by the Security Council – a plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.”

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“We reject the unwarranted reference made by one delegation to the State of Jammu and Kashmir which is an integral part of India,” Tripathi said at a UNGA Third Committee session Tuesday on Elimination of racism, xenophobia and Right of people to self-determination.

She said that it has become Pakistan’s habit to misuse any forum for narrow political gains. In reality, it is the people of India as well as of our region and beyond, have to suffer most egregious violation of human rights inflicted by terrorism emanating from beyond our borders. The right to self-determination cannot be abused and misrepresented with the aim of undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a Member State.

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She asserted that self-determination has long been recognised as the right of peoples of non-self-governing colonies and trust territories to independence and self-government. Pointing that there are still 17 non-self governing territories which are in various stages of decolonisation, Tripathi said the international community must step up efforts to reach the conclusion of this long-drawn process.