India reminds Imran ‘Niazi’ of Gen Niazi’s 1971 Bangla genocide

United Nations, September 28 

Strongly hitting back at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s rant at the UN General Assembly, India has said its citizens do not need anyone else to speak on their behalf and “least of all those who have built an industry of terrorism from the ideology of hate.” Khan delivered his maiden speech at the 74th UN General Debate on Friday. In his almost 50-minute address, he devoted half of his time to India and Kashmir, drumming up hysteria over a nuclear war.

Calling a spade a spade ♠️ 

Pakistan’s attempts to sharpen differences and stir up hatred, are simply put - “hate speech”

India’s full statement as Right of Reply 🔗  

— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) 

India exercised its right of reply to the statement made by Khan later and fielded its newest diplomat at its mission at the UN to fend off the allegations. “Every word spoken from the podium of this august Assembly, it is believed, carries the weight of history. Unfortunately, what we heard today from Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan was a callous portrayal of the world in binary terms. Us vs them; rich vs poor; north vs south; developed vs developing; Muslims vs others, a script that fosters divisiveness. Attempts to sharpen differences and stir up hatred, are simply put, ‘hate speech’,” First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Vidisha Maitra said.

She said rarely had the  General Assembly witnessed such “misuse, rather abuse”, of an opportunity to reflect. “Words matter in diplomacy. Invocation of phrases such as ‘pogrom’, ‘bloodbath’, ‘racial superiority’, ‘pick up the gun’and  ‘fight to the end’ reflect a medieval mindset and not a 21st century vision.

“Pogroms, Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi, are not a phenomenon of today’s vibrant democracies,” she said. “We would request you to refresh your rather sketchy understanding of history. Do not forget the gruesome genocide perpetrated by Pakistan against its own people in 1971 and the role played by Lt Gen AAK Niazi. A sordid fact that the Hon’ble PM of Bangladesh reminded this Assembly about earlier this afternoon.” Maitra said Khan’s “threat of unleashing nuclear devastation qualifies as brinksmanship, not statesmanship. Even coming from the leader of a country that has monopolised the entire value chain of the industry of terrorism, PM Khan’s justification of terrorism was brazen and incendiary,” she said.

“Citizens of India do not need anyone else to speak on their behalf, least of all those who have built an industry of terrorism from the ideology of hate.” 

Maitra added that having “mainstreamed terrorism and hate speech,” Pakistan was trying to play its wild card as the new-found champion of human rights. In his address, Khan had invited UN Observers to Pakistan to verify that there are no militant organisation in Pakistan.

Maitra said Khan, once a cricketer and believed in the gentleman’s game, had given a speech that was “bordered on crudeness of the variety that is reminiscent of the guns of Darra Adam Khel. She said Pakistan was a country that had shrunk the size of its minority community from 23 per cent in 1947 to 3 per cent today and subjected Christians, Sikhs, Ahmediyas, Hindus, Shias, Pashtuns, Sindhis and Balochis to draconian blasphemy laws, systemic persecution, blatant abuse and forced conversions. “Their newfound fascination for preaching human rights is akin to trophy-hunting of the endangered mountain goat, markhor,” she observed.

Pakistan’s virulent reaction to the removal of an outdated and temporary provision that was hindering development and integration of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir stems from the fact that those who thrive on conflict never welcome the ray of peace, Maitra said. — PTI

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