India and Pakistan clashed at the UN Security Council after New Delhi described Islamabad as the 'epicenter of terrorism' and charged it with not living up to its commitments to the international community and the United Nations to stop cross-border terrorism.

In a statement on Friday, India's UN Ambassador Vijay Nambiar demanded that the Council's Counter Terrorism Committee identify the countries that violate its resolutions aimed at countering terrorism.

Nambiar did not name Pakistan, describing it in his entire presentation as 'one country', but the reference was so obvious that Pakistan Ambassador Munir Akram took floor to deny charges of terrorism against his country.

The clash came as the Council was disucussing threats to international peace caused by terrorism.

Nambiar specifically referred to the recent massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits, including 11 women and two children, by Pakistan-trained terrorists, and said their objective was 'selective cleansing' through mass murder, an objective, he said, they have pursued all along.

Pointing out that the incident has been condemned across the world, he told the Council that what has gone unnoticed is the tremendous restraint and composure displayed by the government and various communities in India in not being provoked into reacting disproportionately to this event.

"We are confident that our democracy offers systematic safeguards that would prevent us from becoming a mirror image of the monster we oppose," he said.

Irked by Nambiar's remarks, Akram said India holding 'one country' responsible for the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is a case of the pot calling the kettle black and called for impartial inquiry into the Kashmir massacre, saying such allegations could raise  tensions.

"Pakistan has asked that the latest massacre be investigated by an organisation such as Amnesty International," he said, and challenged New Delhi to accept the suggestion if it was convinced that external forces were responsible for the incident.