New Delhi (NVI): India today gave a befitting reply to Pakistan for its remarks on Kashmir at an international Speakers conference, while reiterating that “Jammu and Kashmir has been and will remain an integral part of India”.
“We call upon Pakistan to end cross-border Terrorism. Our overtures should not be taken as sign for weakness,” said Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, leading the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (5WCSP).
“India exercises its Right of Reply to statement by Pakistan, a country whose PM glorified dreaded terrorist ‘Osama Bin Laden’ a ‘martyr’ from its Parliament,” Birla said while responding to the comments by Pakistan National Assembly Speaker during the special event on ‘Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism: The perspective of victims’ today.
He was referring to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who in June this year, had called slain al-Qaeda chief and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden a “shaheed” (martyr), evoking sharp criticism from India and the world community.
In his reply to Pakistan speaker, Birla further said, “UN Analytical Support Sanctions Monitoring Team mentions Pakistan as the leading exporter of terror with more than 6000 nationals currently engaged in terrorism.”
He also urged the international community to isolate Pakistan to increase the cost of engaging in terror activities.
“Pakistan’s PM had admitted to nearly 40,000 militants on its soil. Pakistan’s aggressions against J&K in 1965, 1971, 1999 (Kargil), attack on Mumbai and Parliament, Uri, Pulwama etc. show Pakistan’s State-sponsored policy of terrorism as evident in the inaction against likes of Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Ehsanullah Ehsan,” he said.
The virtual conference was organized jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva, and the Parliament of Austria with the support of the United Nations (UN), on August 19 and 20. Om Birla had yesterday attended the inaugural session of the conference.
-ARK
