New York: India on Friday said that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's threat of unleashing nuclear devastation qualifies as "brinksmanship, not statesmanship" and questioned whether " Pakistan PM can confirm the fact that it is home to 130 UN-designated terrorists and 25 terrorist entities listed by the UN, as of today".
India's right to reply comes after Khan in his maiden at the 74th UNGA session made an attempt to "sharpen differences and stir up hatred".
Exercising India's right to reply to Khan's speech, First Secretary MEA Vidisha Maitra said that Pakistan's "virulent reaction" over the abrogation of Article 370 depicts that "those who thrive on conflict never welcome the ray of peace".
Using strong words, Vidisha Maitra, First Secretary Ministry of External Affairs, exercising India's right of reply to Khan's speech, said: "Rarely has the General Assembly witnessed such misuse, rather abuse, of an opportunity to reflect."
Here are the highlights to India's reply to Pak PM Imran Khan's speech:
- "The choice of Khan's words to attack India, like "pogrom", "bloodbath", "racial superiority", "pick up the gun" and "fight to the end", reflected a "medieval mindset and not a 21st Century vision."
- "Pakistan's "virulent reaction to the removal of an outdated and temporary provision (Article 370) that was hindering development and integration of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir stems from the fact that those who thrive on conflict never welcome the ray of peace."
- "While Pakistan has ventured to upstream terrorism and downstream hate speech there, India is going ahead with mainstreaming development in Jammu and Kashmir. The mainstreaming of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as Ladakh, in India's thriving and vibrant democracy with a millennia-old heritage of diversity, pluralism and tolerance is well and truly underway. Irreversibly so."
- "Citizens of India do not need anyone else to speak on their behalf, least of all those who have built an industry of terrorism from the ideology of hate."
- "Imran Khan's "threat of unleashing nuclear devastation qualifies as brinksmanship, not statesmanship."
- "Every word spoken from the podium of this August Assembly, it is believed, carries the weight of history. Unfortunately, what we heard today from Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan was a callous portrayal of the world in binary terms. Us vs Them; Rich vs Poor; North vs South; Developed Vs Developing; Muslims vs Others."
- "A script that fosters divisiveness at the UN. Attempts to sharpen differences and stir up hatred, are simply put - 'hate speech'."
- "Even coming from the leader of a country that has monopolized the entire value chain of the industry of terrorism, Prime Minister Khan's justification of terrorism was brazen and incendiary."
- "For someone who was once a cricketer and believed in the gentleman's game, today's speech bordered on crudeness of the variety that is reminiscent of the guns of Darra Adam Khel."
- "Since Khan has invited UN Observers to Pakistan to verify that there were "no militant organisations in Pakistan, the world will hold him to that promise".
- "Can Pakistan confirm the fact that it is home to 130 UN designated terrorists and 25 terrorist entities listed by the UN, as of today?"
- "Will Pakistan acknowledge that it is the only government in the world that provides pension to an individual listed by the UN in the Al Qaeda and Da'esh (Islamic State) Sanctions list?"
- "Can Pakistan explain why here in New York, its premier bank, the Habib Bank had to shut shop after it was fined millions of dollars over terror financing?"
- "Will Pakistan deny that the Financial Action Task Force has put the country on notice for its violations of more than 20 of the 27 key parameters?"
- "And would Prime Minister Khan deny to the city of New York that he was an open defender of Osama bin Laden?"
- "Having mainstreamed terrorism and hate speech, Pakistan is trying to play its wild card as the newfound champion of human rights."
- "This is a country that has shrunk the size of its minority community from 23 per cent in 1947 to 3 per cent today and has subjected Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadiyas, Hindus, Shias, Pashtuns, Sindhis and Balochis to draconian blasphemy laws, systemic persecution, blatant abuse and forced conversions."
- "Pakistan's "newfound fascination for preaching human rights is akin to trophy hunting of the endangered mountain goat - markhor".
- "Pogroms, Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi, are not a phenomenon of today's vibrant democracies. We would request you to refresh your rather sketchy understanding of history."
- "Do not forget the gruesome genocide perpetrated by Pakistan against its own people in 1971 and the role played by Lt. Gen A.A.K. Niazi."
- "A sordid fact that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh reminded this Assembly about earlier this afternoon."
By using Khan's surname Niazi, that he prefers not to use, India has highlighted his link with the Niazi clan of Pakistan, and the fact that he has been facing increasing calls of "Go Niazi Go Back", even inside Parliament.
The name Niazi reminds Pakistanis of the humiliation of their defeat at India's hands in the 1971 war that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
The then commanding officer of the Pakistan Army, Lieutenant General Ameer Abdullah Khan Niazi, had surrendered his weapon to the Indian army commander, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, on December 16, 1971.
During his address, Imran Khan warned of dire "consequences" in the event of a nuclear war with India over the Kashmir issue.
"If a conventional war starts between the two countries anything could happen. A country seven times smaller than its neighbour what will it do -- either surrender or fight for its freedom," he had said in his maiden address to the UN General Assembly here that exceeded beyond the allotted time limit of between 15 to 20 minutes.
"My belief is we will fight and when a nuclear-armed country fights till the end it will consequence far beyond the borders. I am warning you. It's not a threat but worry about where are we heading. If this goes wrong you hope for the best but prepare for the worst," Khan said.
