India’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s address to the 71st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) created quite a stir in Pakistan with diplomats, politicians, senators and journalists responding strongly to the minister’s speech.
The Pakistani media was abuzz with reactions from all quarters in response to the fiery speech delivered by Sushma Swaraj on Monday.
Maleeha Lodhi Lashes Out at Sushma’s Speech
Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi called Sushma Swaraj’s speech at the UNGA ‘a pack of lies’. In a series of tweets following the Indian MEA’s address, Maleeha Lodhi countered the claims made by Swaraj, especially on the Kashmir issue.
Hindustan Is Behind Acts of Terrorism in Our Country: Pakistani Interior Minister
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also held India responsible for various acts of terrorism in Pakistan.
“For several years Hindustan has been behind acts of terrorism in Pakistan. We should be alert in every street and this is a message for everyone, not just our security forces and politicians. We need to be united against terrorism,” Nisar told Geo News post Swaraj’s speech.
The minister also hinted at the fact that Pakistan was ready to for a war with India. He also took a jibe at the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Have never witnessed a country’s leader using such language,” he told Geo News. referring to Modi’s speeches after the Uri attacks.
‘Speech an Attempt to Divert Focus From K-Issue’
Mohammed Nafees Zakaria, Spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rebutted the claims made by the MEA India in a series of sharp tweets:
Pak Army Chief Questions India’s Seriousness About Resolving Disputes
Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif said that India is unwilling to address the Kashmir issue and that is giving rise to misunderstandings.
He accused India of exploiting the security situation on the border with Afghanistan and added that terrorists could move across borders because of no effective border management systems in place there, reported PTI.
“This is exploited by anti-Pakistan intelligence agencies such as RAW,” he said to PTI.
Social Media Overflowing with Hatred
Post the Uri attacks, leaders from both sides of the border have been spewing vitriol against each other through their speeches, addresses or social media reactions. The response to Sushma Swaraj’s speech saw some more of this, especially on social media, with many even targeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his leadership.
Pakistani politician and retired bureaucrat Rehman Malik reiterated that Pakistan is a nuclear power and would not bow down to before India under any circumstances.
“Jalsa or UNGA?”
Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Hina Khar, took to Twitter to respond to Swaraj’s claims of India not having antagonised Pakistan or its officials.
She then claimed that the antagonistic approach of Indian government in itself was enough to discredit India’s claims.
India-Pakistan War?
Geo News journalist Hamid Mir raised a pertinent question through his tweet,
Mubasher Lucman, Pakistani film director, journalist and talk show host posted a rather acerbic post on Facebook calling the Indian Prime Minister a ‘mad butcher’. The post gives a glimpse of the hatred and tension simmering between the two nations in the aftermath of the Uri attacks.
Aziz Confident of International Community’s Support
Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs said that India’s attempts to isolate Pakistan have backfired and that the international community would support Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue.
“Isolation of Pakistan Was Pre-planned, Uri Didn’t Trigger it”
Television journalist Moeed Pirzada responded to Khar’s tweet and gave his take on what India’s foreign policy was now focused on.
Pirzada wrote an analysis about how and why Swaraj should have left the Uri attack out of her speech. Pirzada claimed that the Indian government is only using the incident to execute its long-standing plan to isolate Pakistan.
What Sushma Swaraj said in UNGA was exactly the position Modi government was working upon for the past several weeks. Plans were being made, being perfected of unleashing a strategy of isolating Pakistan, of defining Kashmir as nothing but ‘cross-border terrorism’ and blaming Pakistan for creating all what Indian government faced in Srinagar and adjacent areas.Moeed Pirzada’s Blog
“India Does Not Care About Kashmir”
Pakistan’s ambassador to US, Jalil Abbas Jilani, claimed that the Indian government did not consider Kashmir to be a part of the country, as claimed by Swaraj.
He claimed it to be in violation of international law and a breach of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
India Strikes Back Strongly
Following Pakistan’s strong reaction to Sushma Swaraj’s speech at the UNGA, India’s First Secretary Eenem Gambir asked if representatives from Pakistan can confirm non-usage of terrorist proxies. She called Pakistan a “dysfunctional state” which heaps atrocity upon atrocity, reported ANI.
She counter-attacked Pakistan on the issue of human rights, asking why was Pakistan still using air strikes and artillery repeatedly against its own people. She didn’t shy away from invoking 1971 and called it the ‘”most heinous genocides in human history”, reported ANI.
The First Secretary also retweeted a tweet by Yoshita Singh, a New York-based PTI correspondent:
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