India rebukes Pakistan for raising Kashmir issue at Geneva assembly

India has strongly criticised Pakistan for attempting to politicise the proceedings of the 151st Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir “has been, is, and shall always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.”

Delivering India’s Right of Reply to Pakistan’s remarks at the forum, Lok Sabha MP Aprajita Sarangi said Islamabad’s statements were nothing more than “habitual propaganda and baseless allegations against India.”

“We deplore the attempt by Pakistan to politicise this forum and to bring in unwarranted references to issues which do not fall within the purview of this assembly,” Sarangi said.

Rejecting Pakistan’s claims, she reiterated that the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was “completely legal and irrevocable,” adding that Pakistan had “no locus standi to comment on India’s internal matters.”

Sarangi also accused Islamabad of fuelling unrest in the region through terrorism. “It is Pakistan which is in illegal and forcible occupation of India’s territories that it should vacate. Peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir is anathema to Pakistan and it is trying to sabotage this by using cross-border terrorism to destabilise the region,” she said.

Touching upon the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, the MP said that technological advances, demographic shifts and persistent terrorism had changed the context in which the treaty was signed.

“The treaty was concluded in a spirit of goodwill and friendship. The obligation to honour a treaty in good faith is fundamental, but the unrelenting cross-border terrorism from Pakistan interferes with our ability to utilise the treaty as per its provisions. Hence, it has been kept in abeyance by India,” Sarangi stated.

The 151st IPU Assembly in Geneva brings together parliamentarians from across the world to deliberate on global peace, security and sustainable development. India’s sharp response reaffirmed its consistent position that Pakistan must end terrorism and vacate illegally occupied territories before commenting on India’s domestic affairs.