Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif brings up 'occupation' of Kashmir at UN

WASHINGTON: Cutting a rather lonely figure at the United Nations, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif relied on his 'stock' options – Kashmir and sundry recycled 'peace' proposals – to generate interest. He painted Pakistan as the long-suffering victim of terrorism in his widely anticipated speech to the UN while comparing Kashmir to the "occupation" of Palestine.

Sharif’s accusation got the Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup to respond with a series of rapid fire responses on Twitter, the latest battlefield in the war of narratives. "Pak PM gets foreign occupation right, occupier wrong. We urge early vacation of Pak occupied Kashmir," read one of them.

Swarup went on to add that Pakistan was not a "primary victim of terrorism but of its own policies. It is in fact the prime sponsor of terrorism. " Pakistani commentators on Twitter mounted a defence of their prime minister who in their opinion was offering peace.

Sharif suggested in his speech that the ceasefire along the Line of Control be formalised, the UN Military Observers Group be expanded to monitor it, India take steps to demilitarise on its side, and get out of Siachin. "To de-militarise Kashmir is not the answer. To de-terrorise Pakistan is," said Swarup.

Sharif, whose visit has been low key compared to the Narendra Modi’s high profile foray, did not give any evidence or a 'dossier' of India’s alleged involvement in Balochistan as was reported in the Pakistani media. In fact, a former ambassador Sherry Rehman, wondered where the dossier was. A Pakistani journalist asked him why he was meeting only grocery shop-owners while Modi was meeting CEOs.

India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to deliver her speech on October 2. She has, in the meantime, held the first ministerial level trilateral with Japan and the US.


(The author is a senior journalist)