United Nations, Oct 4, 2024
Pakistan, the glorifier of the face of international terrorism, Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, cannot claim to be a victim of terror and risks facing the consequences of its actions, R. Mythili, the legal officer at India’s UN Mission, said on Thursday.
“Let us not forget the fact that Osama bin Laden, the face of global terror, was found in this country,” she said referring to Pakistan while responding to its attack on India during a session on “Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism” at the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly, which deals with legal matters.
“This country’s leadership glorified him as a martyr from the floor of Parliament. It is ironic to see this country’s claim to be a victim of terrorism,” she said.
“This is the country which nurtures terrorists in their backyard in the hope that they will only harm their neighbours,” she said.
Earlier while delivering India’s statement to the committee, without naming Pakistan, Mythili said that the masterminds of the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai “continue to roam scot-free with full state hospitality”.
That was a dig at Islamabad for harbouring Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Mohammed Saeed who was behind the Mumbai attack in 2008.
“In order to deflect the attention of the international community from their nefarious agendas, such states attempt to portray themselves as victims of terrorism,” Mythili said.
“UN-proscribed terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and their affiliates and proxies have been perpetrating terror attacks on Indian soil,” she said.
In her response to Pakistan, Mythili said: “Their cynical export of terror in pursuit of their vicious as an agenda can never succeed.” Adding a warning, she said: “These actions will certainly have consequences.”
She offered a choice of descriptions for the Pakistani attacks: “Bizarre”, “Frivolous”, or “Politically Motivated”.
Pakistan’s anti-India diatribes “deserve nothing but contempt”, she said.
As for Islamabad’s claims to Kashmir, she dismissed them as wishful thinking. “The entire Union Territories of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh were, are and always will be an integral and inalienable part of India, irrespective of what the representative Pakistan believes or wishes,” she said.
In her earlier statement, Mythili said: “It is unfortunate that some amongst us, motivated by their narrow political agendas, look for reasons to justify terrorism.”
Although she did not name Pakistan as one of those backing terrorism, the target was clear. “Because of these states, the global resolve to fight against terrorism gets diminished. Because of such states, even 15 years after the Mumbai terror attacks, the masterminds continue to roam scot-free with full state hospitality.”
“Not only do such states justify terrorism, their governments and their agencies have made terrorism their state policy,” she added.(Agency)
