A top Indian diplomat has equated Pakistan to ‘one-trick’ pony’ while talking about the Kashmir issue and Pakistan’s stance on it, reported Indian newspaper Financial Express.
The remark came when Pakistan expected to highlight the Kashmir issue during the high-level UN General Assembly session this week, India said a “one-trick pony” can “regurgitate” the same act but “single act plays” have no resonance on multi-lateral platforms like the United Nations.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said the UN General Assembly session is a global platform to address global issues, yet each country is sovereign and can do what they feel is in their best interests.
“If somebody else would like to be a one-trick pony, it is for them to regurgitate and act. We have handled this act many times in the past and are confident that we will do so again,” Akbaruddin told reporters here Sunday. He was responding to a question on Pakistan expected to highlight the Kashmir issue “at a higher decibel” during the high-level session of the 73rd UN General Assembly beginning at the world body’s headquarters Monday.
“Our contention is that the UN works best on multilateralism and multi-lateral platforms work best when nations work in partnerships. “Single act plays have no resonance in such matters. Anybody can try and be a solo player. However solo players in a multi-lateral context have neither the past nor a future,” he said adding that it is a country’s call on how they spend the time allocated to them during the UNGA session.
Pakistan has consistently used the platform of the UN General Assembly to rake up the Kashmir issue and its leaders have sought to internationalize it during their addresses in the General Debate.
Following India’s acceptance of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s request for a meeting, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi were slated to meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly. However, India called off the meeting, citing the “brutal killings” of three policemen in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and Islamabad releasing postage stamps “glorifying” Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani.
Khan had tweeted that he is disappointed at the “arrogant and negative” response by India to his call for the resumption of the peace dialogue.
