NEW YORK: As expected, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided any mention of New Delhi’s crackdown in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir during his address to the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday, as people protested outside against the lockdown in the region.
Modi, in his address in Hindi, told world leaders that India’s “voice against terrorism to alert the world about its evil rings with seriousness and outrage”.
“For the sake of humanity, it is imperative that the world unites against terrorism,” he said, according to The Hindu. “The face of the world is changing, modern technology is bring about sweeping changes in different spheres of life. In such a situation, a fragmented world is in the interest of no one.”
“Terror is not an issue pertaining to one country, but a challenge faced by the entire world,” he added. “A world that is divided by terror is opposing the principles on which UN was founded.”
Outside the UN, people from the Muslim, Sikh and other communities gathered to protest India’s continued lockdown in occupied Kashmir, which was imposed on August 5 ahead of New Delhi’s unilateral move to annex occupied Jammu & Kashmir.
Last Saturday, Modi arrived in Houston to attend a rally, titled “Howdy Modi” — a Texan cliché — at which President Donald Trump, too, made an appearance.
Pakistanis, Kashmiris and Sikhs living in the United States had converged on Houston to express their indignation with the Indian prime minister over the scrapping of occupied Kashmir’s special status and excesses committed by Delhi’s law enforcement agencies against minorities.
