India slams Pak for justifying terrorism

India has slammed Pakistan for its “unacceptable” remarks that persistent human rights violations could justify violent extremism in Kashmir, asserting that no cause can justify terrorist acts and terrorism is the biggest violation of human rights.

“Yesterday we heard a delegate cloak territorial aggrandisement in an integral part of my country, i.e., Jammu and Kashmir, in an unacceptable manner,” Counsellor in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN M K Rao said at a session on ‘Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism’ in the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly. 

Rao was referring to the remarks by Pakistan’s envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi, who had said in the session on October 3 that the international community agrees that “continued and persistent violations of human rights contribute to violent extremism”.

“Yet the killings continue in Kashmir and in Palestine.

Brutalisation and oppression of people struggling for their legitimate right to self-determination constitutes state terrorism. That too needs to be addressed,” Lodhi had said.

Rao, in his statement on Tuesday, rejected the Pakistani envoy’s assertion that persistent violation of human rights could justify terrorism or violent extremism. “Terrorist acts are criminal acts; no matter whenever, wherever and by whomsoever these are committed. ‘Cause’ does not justify terrorist acts. 

In fact, terrorism is undoubtedly the biggest violation of human rights,” he said, adding that the resort to the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy cannot be tolerated. Rao told the committee that nations that support and sponsor or provide safe havens to terrorists or terrorist groups should be held responsible for their wrongful acts.

“The perpetrators of terrorist attacks must be brought to justice,” he said, underscoring that the international community needs to adopt a policy of “zero-tolerance” towards terrorism.