India Rejects Pakistan’s Kashmir Reference At UN, Calls Out ‘Misuse’ of Forum
New York: India strongly rebuffed Pakistan at the United Nations after Islamabad raised the Jammu and Kashmir issue during a General Assembly session, charging Pakistan with misusing UN platforms to push what New Delhi described as a ‘divisive narrative’. The sharp response came after Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN mentioned Jammu and Kashmir in his statement. India rejected the remarks as baseless and detached from ground realities.
During India’s national statement at the UN General Assembly plenary discussion on the Secretary-General’s annual report, Eldos Mathew Punnoose, Counsellor at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, stated that Pakistan has developed a pattern of politicising multilateral platforms, according to news agency PTI. Punnoose observed that while the international community is expected to transcend narrow national interests, Pakistan persistently exploits UN mechanisms to further its agenda. He asserted that Pakistan’s mention of Jammu and Kashmir was unwarranted, underlining that the Union Territory is an integral part of India.
India’s pushback followed Pakistan’s ongoing attempts to internationalise the Kashmir matter at different UN bodies, efforts that New Delhi asserts have repeatedly failed to garner wider international support. Speaking on the principle of self-determination, Punnoose cautioned against its misuse to justify separatist claims. While recognising self-determination as a fundamental UN principle, he underscored that it must not be manipulated to promote fragmentation in democratic and pluralistic nations. He urged Pakistan to stop making baseless accusations that distort reality.
Beyond bilateral matters, India also highlighted challenges confronting the Global South. Punnoose mentioned that India has consistently worked to raise these issues across UN platforms and advocated for concrete follow-up measures to convert collective sentiment into tangible results. He further observed that the United Nations is at a critical juncture, facing growing expectations across its mandates of peace and security, development, and human rights.
India also voiced concern over the UN’s constrained effectiveness in resolving current global conflicts, cautioning that inaction erodes the organisation’s credibility. With conflicts intensifying across the world, Punnoose said the international community expects the UN to reduce human suffering and restore peace.