Kashmir was never part of India and never will it ever be: Pakistan

Pakistan slammed New Delhi for the "worst form of state terrorism" against the oppressed people of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, saying that Jammu and Kashmir is not a part of the Indian state — it has never been, nor will it ever be.

Pakistan Mission’s First Secretary Muhammad Zulqarnain Chheena, while delivering the first Right of Reply during the 75th session of the United National General Assembly, made that remark.

He also said that occupied Jammu and Kashmir "will be free one day".

“Jammu & Kashmir is not a part of India: it never was and it never will be. The state of Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised disputed territory as decreed by the Security Council,” said the diplomat.

The Kashmir dispute, he said, will be settled as per the will of the people as expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.

He said the Kashmiri people have a legitimate right to resist the Indian occupation by all means at their disposal.

The Pakistani diplomat said the Kashmiris’ just struggle cannot be denigrated or described as terrorism. It is the occupying state which is guilty of terrorism against the occupied people, he pointed out.

"The Indian right of reply was another shameful attempt to deflect the attention from the real issues. India, however, will not be able to escape accountability for its crimes,” said Chheena.

Indian UN Mission's First Secretary Mijito Vinito had said on Friday: "The leader of Pakistan [PM Imran Khan] today called for those who incite hate and violence to be outlawed. But, as he went on, we were left wondering, was he referring to himself?"

Vinito had walked out during Khan’s speech at the UN forum.

"Let me assert here loud and clear. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India. The rules and legislations brought in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are strictly internal affairs of India," the Indian diplomat had claimed.

Exercising its right of reply to India's reply, Chheena highlighted the role of the BJP and RSS, saying the Shaheen Bagh riots in Delhi earlier this year exposed the Hindutva ideology.

The RSS-BJP were changing India's history to obliterate the thousand years of Muslim civilisation and culture, he said.

"The charred streets of Delhi not only expose the Hindutva ideology in all its ‘intolerant glory’, they also manifested the trusted method that #Hinduextremists have resorted to — from Gujarat in 2002 to Delhi in 2020, to address the 'Muslim Menace',” he tweeted an excerpt of his speech.

"It’s no secret that the architects of the Gujarat massacre were also the masterminds of the Delhi pogrom. Just like the victims of Gujarat, the victims of Delhi will no doubt search in vain for justice in this new bastion of fascism.”

Underlining the oppression of India in Indian occupied Kashmir, the Pakistani diplomat said the Kashmiri people have been resolutely facing India’s state terrorism, noting that over 70,000 Kashmiri people have been martyred under Indian occupation.

Moreover, he said, India knows a lot about terrorism, as it has used terrorism against each of its neighbours, its people and against the innocent people of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The Pakistani diplomat underlined that India is actively involved in orchestrating, financing and providing logistical support to terrorist organisations like the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and the Jamaat-ul-Ahraar to target Pakistan from across the border.

“Indian has hired and organised criminal groups located at our western borders to conduct terrorist attacks in Pakistan, especially to disrupt the development of the western and southern regions of my country.”

Making a mention of the Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, captured by Pakistan, the first secretary said the Indian intelligence agent had confessed that he was organising and supporting these criminal groups to perpetrate terrorism in Pakistan.

Pakistan and our entire region, he continued, faces Hindutva terrorism as well.

He said the BJP and RSS extremists continue to espouse the fiction of Akhand Baharat [or Greater India] which represents their desire for a unified sub-continent dominated by the Hindu religion where minorities are either converted to Hinduism or become second-class citizens.