Published 18:42 IST, November 14th 2019
India at UNESCO: 'Rule of law is alien to Pakistan'
By exercising its right to reply, India accused Pakistan of violating UNESCO's constitution and reiterated that Pakistan occupied Kashmir is a part of India
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At the 40th session of the general conference at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), India accused Pakistan of violating UNESCO's constitution and reiterated that PoK is a part of India. Exercising its right to reply, India slammed Pakistan for interfering in its internal matter and reminded the world about the hideouts of the perpetrators of Mumbai and New York attacks.
Following statements by leaders from Pakistan on Ayodhya and Kashmir, India blasted Pakistan for its intervention and attempts to “spread hatred”. Ananya Agarwal, India's delegate to UNESCO refuted 'Pakistan’s juvenile propaganda to malign India through fabricated lies, full of deceit and deception'. Condemning Pakistan's comments on the Ayodhya verdict, the diplomat said that the Supreme Court's judgment is about the rule of law, equal respect for all faiths, concepts that are alien to Pakistan and its ethos.
UNESCO Conference in Paris
The General Conference that meets every two years is underway in Paris. India has raised strong objections against Pakistan's claims on Kashmir and reminded the organization of its principles that the Imran Khan government has violated.
“UNESCO's membership is well aware of its constitution which states that to preserve independence, integrity and fruitful diversity of cultures and educational systems of the member states of the organisation, the organisation is prohibited from intervening in matters which are essentially within their domestic jurisdiction. Sadly, in flagrant violation of UNESCO's constitution, its ethos, mandate and practices, Pakistan's intervention did precisely that,” Ananya Agarwal said.
The Indian official also stressed on India's commitment to combat terrorism and reminded the members of who the 'exporter and producer of terrorism' is. "For India, the most important fundamental right is the right to life. The globally single largest threat to this right is from terrorism. Tragically the reality facing is that Pakistan is the world's largest producer and exporter of this evil. Pakistan's political approaches are rooted in terrorist violence and its global engagement is defined by terrorism as an instrument of statecraft,” she added. India, during its reply, also reiterated that Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is part of India.
“Mr. President the Union Territories of Jammu and Ladakh has always been our and shall always be an integral part of India. And it includes the territory that is currently under the illegal and forcible occupation of Pakistan” said Ms. Agarwal.
18:09 IST, November 14th 2019