On Wednesday India denounced Pakistan for lifting the affair of Kashmir at the virtual Commonwealth foreign ministers’ meeting, saying it is a “globally acknowledged promoter of state-sponsored terrorism” that masquerades as a victim of the menace.
The comments made by Vikas Swarup, secretary (West), External Affairs ministry, was part of a statement, he had participated in the meeting on behalf of External Affair Ministry S Jaishankar. While delivering statements both countries didn’t name each other but it was understood that they are targeting each other.
However, Pakistan put up the issue of India’s alleged sponsorship of terror activities aimed against Islamabad, and described Jammu and Kashmir as a “disputed territory”.
Swarup expressed his concern and said, ‘It was hapless, that the Commonwealth meeting was “misused by one of our South Asian member states to pursue its own bigoted, ill-conceived, narrow and unilateral agenda on a multilateral platform” Further he Stated when he got to know about the rant and rave about a South Asian state, he went under deep thought why it was describing itself? And not surprisingly it came from a globally acknowledged promoter of state-sponsored terrorism masquerading as an alleged victim of the same.”
Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in his speech that since the world abides concerned with a pandemic, a state in South Asia is targeting its religious minority groups in order to instigate partition and hatred. It has misdeed the rights and freedoms of millions and fanned hyper-nationalism to engineer illegal demographic change in a disputed territory and sowed racial tensions.
Swarup pointed out Pakistan of bringing genocide to South Asia 39 years back when it killed its people and said it is the same country that has the dubious distinction of becoming synonymous with the phrase ‘epicenter of terrorism’ and hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the United Nations.
As per report of Hindustan Times, Swarup said, ‘the “only dispute left” in Kashmir, which Pakistan described as a “disputed territory”, is “its illegal occupation of certain parts, which sooner or later, it would have to vacate”, a country like this which shamming address about religious minority groups elsewhere, while walking over upon the rights of its own indigenous minorities, was indeed most regrettable, and blatant misuse of this august platform.’
Swarup further discussed the role of India in helping other countries amid the Covid-19 pandemic, saying, “As we move towards the development of a Covid-19 vaccine, India (which accounts for 60% of global vaccine production) has already committed its vaccine production and delivery capacity to help the world in fighting this crisis.”
With respect to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2018, India has opened a “Commonwealth Sub Window” of $50 Million to provide grants to member states for projects related to SDG implementation and climate change.
In its first year of existence, this fund has approved 11 projects in nine Commonwealth countries, including the development of a climate early warning system in seven Pacific Island countries.
Officials said, India has also more than doubled its support to the Commonwealth Small States Offices Program in New York, from $100,000 to $250,000, and Geneva, from $80,000 to $150,000, to support the engagement of small island developing states with global bodies such as the UN and WTO.
