India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin, in a veiled reference to Pakistan has said that "poisoned pens don't work for too long". Speaking to reporters, he mentioned that there might be someone who wanted to bring an issue that it had raised before. Adding that it was for every country to determine its trajectory and how it wanted to approach global platforms, Akbaruddin stated that India’s response to those who stooped low would be to soar high. He was responding to a specific question about the possibility of Pakistan raising the Kashmir issue at the United Nations. 

READ | Syed Akbaruddin lambasts Pak; says 'poisoned pens don't work'

When they stoop low, We soar high

Akbaruddin when asked whether India will speak at the UNGA about the abrogation of article 370, and why it should not be internationalized, in his response to ANI, he said,

"United Nations is a platform for multilateral engagement. It's a platform for collaboration, for cooperation. If there are efforts by individual countries to misuse that platform we know how to address them. Some people refer to the UN as a place of sacred drama. That means there are some who use it for dramatics, there are others who give it a nature of sacrosanct importance in their orientation. We are not those who will use it for dramatic purposes. We are those who believe in focusing and addressing issues in a reasoned manner." "If someone stoops, we have ways of addressing it. When they stoop we soar. We do not need to stoop in the way they stoop. We have a forward-looking vision. We will soar when they stoop," he added.  

READ | Syed Akbaruddin's proud alma-mater gives him a shoutout, gets reply

India is a serious actor and is heard with seriousness

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has asserted that he will raise the issue of Kashmir once again in 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 27, after repeated failures to garner attention at previous United Nations events. Responding to this, Akbaruddin stated, "This is my 35th year in diplomacy. I have seen many theatrics in the general assembly. Many people use their 30 minutes of global attention in the ways that they want. People remember them for what they are - acronyms who do not conform to the global norm." He added, "If a country and a leader wants to do that, he or she is free to do that. I have heard rants, I have heard abuses from different leaders, yet who remembers them? They are footnotes in the path of history. If people want to remember like that, it is their free will to do that." Will India take up the issue of human rights violations in Pakistan? "India is a serious actor. Its voice is heard with seriousness. What we do, when we do, we will do the way we want it. It's not for broadcast purposes you will appreciate. We are a player of consequence in the world, not dramatist personae who just is a fleeting presence on the world stage," Akbaruddin said. 

(With ANI inputs)

READ | Syed Akbaruddin: Climate change, terror to be focus for India at UN

READ | Hammered by India's Syed Akbaruddin, Pakistan PM Imran Khan 'welcomes' loss at United Nations