External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tore in Pakistan's campaign against India at the United Nations as she refused to mince words in slamming Islamabad for pepetrating terrorism and categorically asserted that Jammu and Kashmir will remain an integral part of India.
Here are some highlights of her speech: (Click HERE for the full text)
* Kashmir is an integral part of India, will remain so. So stop dreaming.
* Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said India is violating human rights. I must say, those who live behind glass walls should not throw stones at others. What are they doing in Balochistan? The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of State oppression.
* They (Pakistan) said India is refusing to talk without preconditions. We invited the Pakistan PM Sharif to the swearing in ceremony of our PM? Did we impose any preconditions before inviting him? PM Modi touched down in Lahore before returning home from Afghanistan? Did he have any preconditions for his visit? Did we impose any pre-condition when I went to Islamabad for the Heart of Asia conference and agreed to begin the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue?
* As I said at the very beginning, we will be judged by our action and equally by our inaction. What goals have we achieved and what objectives remain unfulfilled? What did we get in return? Pathankot? Uri? Bahadur Ali? (Ali is a terrorist in our custody, whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan's complicity in cross-border terror).
* In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it. To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account. These nations, in which UN declared terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations.
* If we want to fight terror we must accept that terrorism is the biggest violation of human rights. We have to examine: Who is providing safe haven to terror? Who is financing them? Who's providing them weapons? Whoever has sown the seeds of terror has had to face the consequences some day.
* Fight against terrorism can't be won if we identify terrorism as ours and theirs. We need a joint mechanism to fight the scourge of terror. If a nation doesn't want to join the fight, let's isolate it.
* The Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism was proposed by India in 1996. In 2016, despite the passage of two decades, we are yet to come to a conclusion. As a result, we are unable to develop a norm under which terrorists shall be prosecuted or extradited. Therefore it is my appeal that this General Assembly acts with fresh resolve and urgency to adopt this critical Convention.
* The world has been battling the scourge of terrorism for long. However, despite the blood and tears of innocent victims, attacks this year alone in Kabul and Dhaka, Istanbul and Mogadishu, Brussels and Bangkok, Paris, Pathankot and Uri as well as daily barbaric tragedies in Syria and Iraq, remind us that these malevolent forces are yet to be defeated.
* The 21st century has begun in the shadow of turmoil, but we can turn this into a golden age in the history of civilization through united and concerted efforts. But what happens tomorrow will depend on what we do today.
Photograph: Paresh Gandhi
