Utter rubbish, says former Indian envoy to UN on US media reports on Pegasus

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New Delhi, January 29

Former Indian Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin dismissed reports that Israel offered Pegasus, a tool that cracked encrypted messages on iPhones and Androids, to countries like India, Hungary and Mexico in order to ensure a shift in their positions at the UN, the New York Times has claimed in a year-long investigation.

Pegasus was offered to PM Narendra Modi during an Indian Premier’s first-ever 2017 Israel visit as part of a $ 2 billion package that included missiles. Subsequently, India voted in favour of Israel by denying observer status at the UN’s Economic and Social Council to a Palestinian human rights organisation. “Access helped Israel win votes in the UN and to reach an accord with Arab adversaries,” reported the paper.

However, when asked to respond to this claim by analyst Dilip Cherian, Akbaruddin said, “The insinuation about India’s UN vote is utter rubbish.”