For the first time, India uses 'right to reply' to cut short Pak's Kashmir blame game

NEW DELHI: Amid reports of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at Ufa in Russia, the two countries were locked in a bitter tussle at the ongoing United Nation Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva where New Delhi, for the first time, used its ‘right to reply’ to send a strong message to its neighbour. The right to reply is a special rule allowing a delegate to interrupt a speaker.

Under the Modi government, there has been a constant endeavour to name and shame Pakistan at international forums and the opportunity was used by India’s delegation in Geneva as well.

In a statement, India also criticised Pakistan’s move to raise matters related to J&K at the UN forum and asked Islamabad to look deep within over killings of innocent children at Peshawar in December 2014.



“A part of the territories of our state remains under the forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan. It is unfortunate that in recent times the people of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir have become victims of sectarian conflict, terrorism and extreme economic hardship because of Pakistan’s occupation and discriminatory policies,” India said at the UN.

The provocation came from Pakistan. It said: “The people of J&K have been denied their right to selfdetermination, subjected to consistent and forceful foreign occupation and their democratic rights have been usurped and suppressed by conduction of sham elections at gun-point.”

The rebuttal from India underlined the fact that J&K has recorded 65% voter turnout in the recently concluded assembly polls, despite threats from Pakistan-based terror groups.