At the UNESCO General Conference in Paris on Thursday, India hit out at Pakistan over its “false claims and propaganda” on Jammu and Kashmir .
Ananya Agarwal, who led the Indian delegation to the UNESCO meet, reiterated the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity over the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
“Pakistan’s neurotic behaviour has resulted in its decline to a nearly failed state with its weak economy, radicalised society and deep-rooted DNA of terrorism,” Agarwal said.
She described Pakistan as a “home to all shades of darkness”. “From extremist ideologies and darker powers of radicalisation to the darkest manifestations of terrorism,” Agarwal told the panel.
Agarwal pointed out that Pakistan had ranked 14th on the Fragile States Index last year. “Pakistan’s tiresome tale is a fake attempt, overflowing with hypocrisy, to hide its own pathetic and pitiable record as a nation, including its own treatment of minorities, spread of hate speech and glorification of terrorism,” the diplomat said.
She listed the country’s treatment of minorities. “From 1947, when the minorities formed 23% of Pakistan’s population they have now dwindled to make nearly 3%,” Agarwal said. “It has subjected Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadiyya, Hindus, Shias, Pashtuns, Sindhis and Balochis to draconian blasphemy laws, blatant abuse and forced conversions. The gender-based crimes against women include including honour killings, acid attacks forced conversions, forced marriages and child marriages remain a severe problem in Pakistan today.”
She referred to Imran Khan’s remarks at the United Nations General Assembly session in September when he had warned of a nuclear war between Indian and Pakistan. “Would this gathering believe if I told them that one of Pakistan’s former presidents, General Pervez Musharraf, recently called terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden and the Haqqani network as Pakistan’s heroes?” Agarwal asked.
The Indian diplomat rejected the “fabricated falsehoods” peddled by Islamabad. Agarwal urged the UNESCO membership to come together to reject “such a gross misuse of the platform” by a member nation.
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