Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi. (File Photo) Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi. (File Photo)

Describing India as the “mother of terrorism” in South Asia, Pakistan on Sunday called upon the international community to ask New Delhi to halt its provocations and aggressive actions if it wants to avoid a dangerous escalation between the two countries. “India has sponsored and perpetrated terrorism and aggression against all its neighbours; creating terror groups; destabilising and blockading neighbours to do its strategic bidding and sponsoring subversion, sabotage and terrorism in various parts of Pakistan. All this establishes that India is the mother of terrorism in South Asia,” alleged Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi.

Lodhi’s response came a day after India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in her speech at the United Nations General Assembly, launched a stinging attack on Pakistan for creating terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and the Haqqani Network.

“If the international community wishes to avoid a dangerous escalation between India and Pakistan, it must call on India to halt its provocations and aggressive actions. It must end the ceasefire violations along the Line of Control. It must halt its sponsorship of terrorist groups against Pakistan,” Lodhi said, while alleging that India is perpetrating terrorism in various parts of Pakistan. She also accused India’s National Security Advisor Ajit K Doval of interfering in Balochistan.

Her reply assumes greater significance as it is uncharacteristic of a top diplomat to take the floor of the UNGA and launch such an offensive. India is yet to exercise its right to respond to Lodhi’s statement, which said “in her vitriol she (Swaraj) deliberately ignored the core issue” of Kashmir.

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Pakistan implored the international community to intervene in their dispute as India has rejected third-party intervention. Lodhi commented that if both the parties fail to resolve a dispute, it is not only the right but the obligation of the international community to be a party and help resolve the dispute. “UN Security Council resolutions do not lapse with time. Or are ‘overtaken’, as the Indian foreign minister put it. Law has no expiry date. Morality has no sell-by date. India’s posture is that of the predator. It cannot escape its legal and moral obligation to abide by the resolutions of the Security Council,” she said.

The Pakistani diplomat, referring to Swaraj’s statement on terrorism and her push for a definition of terrorism, Lodhi said that a definition should actually be given by the UN. “In that definition, we should include ‘state terrorism’. The state terrorism which the Indian National Security Adviser has boasted is being sponsored by India’s spy agencies in Pakistan’s Balochistan province in what he called a ‘double squeeze’ strategy,” she alleged.

Lodhi said that the ‘largest democracy’ is also “the world’s largest hypocrisy”, alleging that it is ruled by a fascist ideology. She claimed that Swaraj had criticised Pakistan’s founding father MA Jinnah in her speech.

Lodhi said that Pakistan is open to resuming comprehensive dialogue with India to address all outstanding issues, especially Jammu and Kashmir.

India has said on multiple occasions said that Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism must end, and only then it would sit for talks with the western neighbour.

“But this dialogue must be accompanied by an end to India’s campaign of subversion and state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan,” Lodhi said.

Swaraj, in her speech, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended a hand of peace and friendship since assuming office but Pakistan didn’t respond in kind. “Pakistan’s Prime Minister must answer why his nation spurned this offer,” she had said.

She also reminded Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi that when she visited Islamabad in 2015, former PM Nawaz Sharif had decided that the dialogue between India and Pakistan shall be renewed and named “Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue”.

“The word ‘bilateral’ was used consciously to remove any confusion or doubt about the fact that the proposed talks would be between our two nations and only between our two nations, without any third-party present. And he must answer why that proposal withered, because Pakistan is responsible for the aborting that peace process,” Swaraj had said.

(With PTI inputs)

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