India slammed Pakistan for repeated references to Jammu and Kashmir at a UN debate on peacekeeping reforms, asserting that the region “was, is, and will always be an integral part of India”.
Speaking at the Security Council, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, snubbed the neighbouring country for attempting to “divert attention” from the core discussions on peacekeeping.
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“India is compelled to note that the delegate of Pakistan has yet again resorted to unwarranted remarks on the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Such repeated references neither validate their illegal claims nor justify their state-sponsored cross-border terrorism,” the Indian diplomat said.
He said Pakistan itself is illegally occupying a part of Jammu and Kashmir and must vacate the territory. “Pakistan continues to illegally occupy the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which it must vacate,” he said, asserting that India would not allow its sovereignty to be questioned at global forums.
Ridiculing the neighbouring country’s attempts to use the platform to pursue its “parochial and divisive agenda”, Mr Harish said, “We would advise Pakistan not to try to divert attention of this forum.” India, he noted, would not engage in a detailed response but made its position clear. “India will refrain from exercising a more elaborate Right of Reply.”
Speaking about UN peacekeeping, the Indian diplomat spoke about women’s participation in this endeavour. He pointed out that India recently organised the first-ever Conference for Women Peacekeepers from the Global South, emphasising that women play a critical role in operations. “It is no longer a question of whether women can do peacekeeping. Rather, it is about whether peacekeeping can do without women,” he said.
He reaffirmed India’s “unwavering commitment” to UN peacekeeping and called for Security Council reforms to make the body more “reflective and representative of current geopolitical realities.”
