Pakistan's permanent rep to UN: India is using state-level terrorism

India has long used state-level terrorism as an instrument, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, told a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, Report informs.

Ambassador Ahmad answered questions about the escalating tensions with India, recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir, and regional security issues.

The ambassador said that Pakistan supports and welcomes UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' offer to mediate to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan. He added that they have called on the Secretary-General to visit the region and assess the situation on the ground.

Commenting on India's accusations against Islamabad of supporting terrorism, the diplomat said that Pakistan is a supporter of peace and stability in the region and is always open to dialogue: "The only solution is dialogue. Although we are ready for discussion, India does not appreciate this opportunity."

The ambassador added that India has long been using the pretext of terrorism for its own political goals: "Pakistan itself is one of the countries that has suffered the most from terrorism. India, on the other hand, is trying to cover up its illegal actions by manipulating this issue."

Referring to the Pulwama attack in 2019, the diplomat said that India used the incident for political purposes and that the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August had further escalated tensions in the region. He said that Pakistan has repeatedly provided evidence that India is funding terrorist activities in Balochistan and other regions.

The ambassador, who also touched on human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, said that India is pursuing a policy aimed at demographic change in the region:

“After the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, thousands of Indian citizens were allowed to settle in Jammu and Kashmir. This is an attempt to artificially change the demography of the region, which is contrary to UN resolutions.”

At the press conference, the ambassador called on the UN to take a more active position against the growing cases of Islamophobia in the world and stressed the importance of strengthening international cooperation in this regard.

In response to a question about the nuclear threat, Ahmad noted that Pakistan, as a responsible nuclear state, never sees weapons as a means of threat:

“We hope that India will also demonstrate the same responsibility.”

On April 22, 26 people were killed and many others were injured when gunmen opened fire on tourists in the Pahalgam town of Indian-controlled Kashmir.