Nawaz Sharif's UNGA speech was full of threats & complete disregard of facts: India

On 22 September, India launched an attack on Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for glorifying Hizbul commander Burhan Wani in his speech to the UN General Assembly.

India said hailing a "self-advertised" terrorist at the forum is "self- incrimination" by the Pakistani leader. Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar said it is "shocking" that a leader of a nation can "glorify a self- declared self-advertised terrorist" at a forum such as the United Nations General Assembly.

"We heard the glorification of a terrorist. Burhan Wani was a self-declared commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, this organisation is widely acknowledged internationally as a terrorist group," Akbar said at a briefing to Indian reporters in New York responding to Sharif's General Debate address at the UN on 21 September.

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"This is self-incrimination by the Pakistan Prime Minister. We just heard a speech full of threat, bluster and what can only be described as rising immaturity and complete disregard of facts," Akbar said.

In his nearly 20-minute speech, almost half of which was focussed on Kashmir, Sharif hailed Wani as the "symbol" of the Kashmiris' freedom movement. He said a "new generation" of Kashmiris has risen spontaneously against India's "illegal occupation - demanding freedom from occupation".

The Pakistan Prime Minister referred to Wani, who was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8, as a "young leader" and said he has "emerged as the symbol of the latest Kashmiri Intifada, a popular and peaceful freedom movement..."

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India also strongly rejected Sharif's call for "a serious and sustained" dialogue "without any conditions", with Akbar saying that Islamabad is talking about dialogue with a "gun in its hand". "Pakistan at this moment seems to be run by a war machine rather than a government. Pakistan wants dialogue while holding a terrorist gun in its hand.

"Talks and guns don't go together. Our position on a dialogue has been consistent. We have always been ready for a dialogue but we will not succumb to the blackmail tactics of the government in Islamabad that seems eager to use terrorists and terrorism as policy," Akbar said.

--With PTI inputs