Indian envoy slams Pakistan at UNGA for raising J&K issue, says Kashmir is integral part of India

Parvathaneni Harish, India’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), on Friday slammed Pakistan for its “unwarranted mentions” of Jammu and Kashmir, informing the current non-permanent member of the global body that it was a huge responsibility and not a forum to spread “biased and false narratives”.

Delivering India’s statement at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) plenary session on the Security Council’s annual report in New York, Harish added, “Pakistan’s unwarranted reference to a matter that is strictly internal to India, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, has made me react.”

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India criticizes Pakistan over J&K

He further said, “Pakistan has chosen not to spare this forum or its characteristic misuse of lofty UN platforms for its divisive political interests. Pakistan’s misuse of its presence in the Security Council, including through the dissemination of several misinformed and misleading messages, is also indicative of this counterproductive approach. I would like to remind Pakistan that being a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) is not a false responsibility and a biased narrative.”

Harish commented, “I would like to say this loud and clear. Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. Any claims to the contrary are baseless, devoid of facts and inconsistent with historical facts. Empty rhetoric and hollow claims by Pakistan would not change this basic reality.”

The Indian envoy also emphasized that the international community recognizes the importance of reforming the Security Council to make it fit to address the current and future challenges we face.

Read also | India slams Pakistan at UNSC over Kashmir remarks

Pakistan raises India’s internal issue at UN General Assembly

His strongly worded criticism came after Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in his remarks to the UN General Assembly on the “Annual Report of the Security Council” on Friday.

Pakistan, which has been constantly raising the Jammu and Kashmir issue along with other internal issues of India at several UN platforms, currently sits on the Security Council as a non-permanent member and its term will end this year, PTI reported.

India again calls for UN Security Council reform

Calling the current structure of the UN Security Council a reflection of the geopolitical reality of 1945, the Indian envoy said that maintaining the existing framework hampers the body’s effectiveness and is unlikely to face future global challenges.

He pointed out that the limited reforms introduced in the 1960s, which only increased the number of non-permanent seats, did not bring any significant change to the functioning of the Council. According to him, meaningful reforms can only be achieved by expanding the categories of permanent and non-permanent members.

The G4 countries, including India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, have pushed for an increase in the number of Council members from 15 to 25 or 26. Their proposal calls for a restructured body with 11 permanent members and 14 or 15 non-permanent members.

Currently, the UNSC consists of five veto-wielding permanent members, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – along with 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. India last served as a non-permanent member in 2021–22.