New Delhi, March 25
India on Tuesday said Pakistan continued to "illegally occupy" part of Jammu and Kashmir, and "must vacate" the territory while slamming the neighbouring country for its "repeated references" to J&K at a United Nations debate on peacekeeping reforms.
Speaking at the Security Council, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said the remarks were "unwarranted" and reiterated that the region "was, is, and will always be an integral part of India."
"India is compelled to note that the delegate of Pakistan has yet again resorted to unwarranted remarks on the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Such repeated references neither validate their illegal claims nor justify their state-sponsored cross-border terrorism," Harish said.
"Pakistan continues to illegally occupy the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which it must vacate. We would advise Pakistan not to try to divert the attention of this forum to drive its parochial and divisive agenda. India will refrain from exercising a more elaborate Right of Reply," he said.
India's retort came after Syed Tariq Fatemi, the Special Assistant to the Pakistan Prime Minister, spoke on Jammu and Kashmir during a discussion on the future of UN Peacekeeping at the Security Council.