Desk:During a debate on peacekeeping operations at the United Nations, India strongly criticized Pakistan for bringing up Jammu and Kashmir, accusing it of spreading falsehoods. Rajya Sabha member and BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi stated, “India has exercised its right to respond to Pakistan’s comments, as once again, Pakistan attempted to divert this esteemed body with its agenda.”
Trivedi made these remarks on Friday at the UN General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) during discussions on peacekeeping operations. He emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir is “an integral part of India – was, is, and always will be.”
He further stated, “The people of Jammu and Kashmir recently exercised their democratic rights and elected a new government. Pakistan should refrain from such rhetoric and lies, as they won’t change the facts.” Trivedi added that out of respect for the esteemed members of the UN, India would avoid responding to Pakistan’s attempts to misuse this platform.
Trivedi’s response came after a Pakistani representative raised the issue of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors the Line of Control (LoC). India maintains that after the Shimla Agreement and the establishment of the LoC, the relevance of UNMOGIP has ended.
Later, on social media platform X, Trivedi noted that during the UN discussion on peacekeeping, Pakistan’s representative tried to divert the topic by mentioning its involvement with UN peacekeepers beginning in 1948 when the UN deployed peacekeepers to the Jammu and Kashmir region.
Objecting to this comment, he used India’s right to reply, firmly asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is, and will always be, an integral part of India. He further emphasized that recent democratic elections in Jammu and Kashmir were conducted fairly, and that the UN’s esteemed platform should not be used for such misleading comments. He attributed this strong diplomatic stance to the “robust foreign policies” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Trivedi is part of a 12-member Indian parliamentary delegation currently attending various meetings at the UN.
In an earlier statement on the broader review of peacekeeping operations, Trivedi noted that recent conflicts are increasingly complex, with terrorist and armed groups exploiting the situation for their gains. He emphasized India’s commitment to peacekeeping as one of the largest troop-contributing nations to UN peacekeeping missions.