Senior Indian diplomat targets Pakistan over `rant’ at Commonwealth meet

Vikas Swarup, Secretary (West)  in his statement delivered at the 20th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting referred to Pakistan as “a globally acknowledged promoter of state-sponsored terrorism masquerading as an alleged victim of the same”, reports ANI.

“When we heard them rant about a South Asian state, we were left wondering 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. We heard it from a country that brought genocide to South Asia 49 years back when it killed its own people,” he said.

The remarks came after Pakistan, without naming any country said, “While the world remains preoccupied with a pandemic, a state in South Asia is targeting its religious minority groups in order to foment division and hatred amongst community groups.”

Without naming Pakistan, Swarup said it hosts the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the United Nations.

“This is also 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,” the top Indian diplomat said.

Speaking on the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Swarup said the neighbouring nation will have to vacate areas illegally occupied by it sooner or later. 

“The only dispute left in what it alleged today as a disputed territory is its own illegal occupation of certain parts, which sooner or later, it would have to vacate,” he said.