Kashmir will always be an integral part of India, says Sushma Swaraj at UNGA

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Sushma Swaraj Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on September 26 in New York, Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj taking a dig at Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, whose UNGA address was mainly in support of Kashmir, Swaraj said, “Let me state unequivocally that J&K is an integral part of India and will always remain so.”

Without mentioning Pakistan, she said countries which fund, nurture, give shelter to terrorists should be identified held to count.  They should have no place in comity of nations; they should be isolated.

Raising the question of terrorism in her trademark style, Swaraj thundered, “Terrorism has gone way beyond affecting individuals or nations.” She said it is important to know  who is behind this and who benefits from it?

“Since terrorists don’t own banks or weapons factories, there comes the question as to who finances them, arms them and provides sanctuaries? We have faced similar challenges. Kabul, Dhaka, Brussels, Pathankot, Uri attack prove that we have not been able to fight terrorism,” she said.

Raising the issue of Balochistan, she quoted a Hindi phrase, “Sheeshe ke gharon mein rahenle wale pathhar nahin pheka karte” (those who live in glass houses should not throw stones  at others). Swaraj was referring to Balochistan here where the Pakistan army was carrying out human right violations in the name of insurgency.

The PM of Pakistan said that India had placed pre-conditions for talks which are not acceptable to him. What pre-conditions?, asked Swaraj. “Did we impose any pre-condition before extending an invitation for the oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government?” she asked. “What did India get in return for inviting the Pakistan PM?” she asked. “We got Pathankot, Bahadur Ali, and Uri. Bahadur Ali is a terrorist in our custody, whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan’s complicity in cross-border terrorism, but Pakistan does not agree,” she asked.

Earlier, Swaraj said India will continue to play a leading role in combating climate change. It has have decided to submit Instrument of Ratification of the Paris Agreement on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Continuing, she said, “We have launched a domestic effort to transform energy mix to achieve 40% energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.”

Swaraj said, “Climate change is yet another serious challenge confronting us. There are enough resources on this planet to fulfill everyone’s needs, but not enough to fulfill anyone’s greed, for greed is limitless.”