Imran's nuke remark 'brinkmanship': India

United Nations: Strongly hitting back at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's rant at the UN General Assembly, India has said its citizens do not need anyone else to speak on their behalf and "least of all those who have built an industry of terrorism from the ideology of hate."

Khan delivered his maiden speech at the 74th UN General Debate on Friday and in his almost 50-minute address devoted half of his time to India and Kashmir, drumming up hysteria over nuclear war.

Exercising India's right to reply to Khan's address to the United Nations General Assembly, Vidisha Maitra, First Secretary MEA, said, "Prime Minister Khan's threat of unleashing nuclear devastation qualifies as brinksmanship, not statesmanship. Even coming from the leader of a country that has monopolised the entire value chain of the industry of terrorism, Prime Minister Khan's justification of terrorism was brazen and incendiary."

"Every word spoken from the podium of this august Assembly, it is believed, carries the weight of history. Unfortunately, what we heard today from Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan was a callous portrayal of the world in binary terms. Us vs Them; Rich vs Poor; North vs South; Developed Vs Developing; Muslims vs Others. A script that fosters divisiveness at the United Nations. Attempts to sharpen differences and stir up hatred are simply put — 'hate speech'," Maitra said.

While addressing the assembly, Khan had said, "If a conventional war starts between the two countries, anything could happen. But supposing a country seven times smaller than its neighbour is faced with the choice: either you surrender, or you fight for your freedom till death?"

"Pogroms, Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi, are not a phenomenon of today's vibrant democracies," she said.