New Delhi: India strongly countered Pakistan at an Asia meet Thursday, saying it had no locus standi to comment on its internal affairs.
Both countries are participating in the ongoing the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana, Kazakhstan.
At the meeting, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said India has continued “unabated atrocities in Jammu and Kashmir for the last seven decades”, and “Kashmiris faced continued denial of their right to self-determination”.
To this, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi retorted: “Pakistan’s remarks on Jammu and Kashmir at the CICA meet constitute gross interference in India’s internal affairs, sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
“Jammu and Kashmir will remain an integral part of India,” Lekhi asserted.
Lekhi added it was unfortunate that Pakistan had chosen to misuse the CICA platform to “propagate false and malicious propaganda against my country and distract from the theme and focus of today’s discussions and cooperation among member states”.
The junior minister also said Pakistan was the “global epicentre of terrorism” and continued to be the source of terrorist activities including in India.
Lekhi demanded that Pakistan immediately cease anti-India cross-border terrorism and shut down its infrastructure of terrorism.
She said Pakistan continues to make no investment in human development but provides resources for creating and sustaining an infrastructure of terrorism.
To Sharif’s charge that India was a threat to its minorities, Lekhi countered: “Pakistan would be well advised to set its house in order instead of lecturing the world community. This is a country where religious and ethnic minorities are systematically persecuted. The frequent instances of attack and vandalism on the places of worship of minority communities in Pakistan and the countless cases of abduction, forced conversion and marriage of minor girls from minority communities in Pakistan are evidence of the vulnerable status of minorities in this country.”
Lekhi said India desires a normal relationship with all its neighbours, including Pakistan. “Pakistan is thereby advised to walk the talk by creating a conducive atmosphere, including by taking credible, verifiable and irreversible actions to not allow any territory under its control to be used for cross border terrorism against India in any manner,” she said.
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