India lashed out at Pakistan for trying to project itself as a “fire-fighter,” while actually making the world suffer by nurturing terrorists. Pakistan held the “ignoble record” of hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the UN Security Council, India’s First Secretary Sneha Dubey said in the UN General Assembly. India also referred to Pakistan’s “religious and cultural genocide against the people of what is now Bangladesh” and “state-sponsored suppression” of minorities in the country. “This is a regime where anti-Semitism is normalised by its leadership and even justified,” Dubey said on Friday. She said India is a pluralistic democracy, a concept “which is very difficult to understand for Pakistan.”

The retort came after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan raked up the issue of Kashmir in his address to the UN General Assembly and dubbed the Narendra Modi-led Indian government as “fascist.” Dubey said Pakistan was an “arsonist” which had been disguising itself as a “fire-fighter.”

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Dubey said Khan’s statements deserve “our collective contempt and sympathy.” The Indian diplomat said Pakistan presented itself as a “victim of terrorism” as a cover to nurture terrorists in their backyard in the hope of harming their neighbours.

Khan had spoken about the August 5, 2019 abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the death of pro-Pakistan separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

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In the Right of Reply, Dubey said the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh “were, are and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India” and called upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas “under its illegal occupation.” Pakistan has consistently raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir before the UN General Assembly and other forums of the world organisation, drawing condemnation from India for meddling in its internal affairs.

Referring to the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, Dubey said the world had not forgotten that the “mastermind behind that dastardly event, Osama Bin Laden, got shelter in Pakistan” and its glorified by the country’s leadership as a “martyr.” Dubey said India desires normal relations “with all our neighbours, including Pakistan,” but it is for Islamabad to work sincerely towards creating a conducive atmosphere.

India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Saturday that 

Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan and its involvement in terrorism had come under discussion during the Quad summit and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meetings in the US.