‘Living in la-la land’: India slams Pakistan’s ‘incessant propaganda’ at UN

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday slammed Pakistan at the UN Human Rights Council, saying Islamabad must be “hallucinating” or living in “La-La land” if the nation finds it hard to believe that Jammu and Kashmir’s development budget is more than double the recent bailout package it sought from the IMF.India also rejected allegations made by Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), stating that the group had itself allowed to be used as an “echo chamber” for one member state, further adding that Islamabad’s “incessant propaganda reeks of envy.”“India is compelled to exercise its right of reply in response to the references made during the high-level segment by Pakistan and the OIC. We categorically reject these allegations,” first secretary Anupama Singh said, exercising India’s Right to Reply during the High-Level Segment of the 55th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. “We have no desire to dignify it, but we will make a few points to dismantle it with facts,” she added.Reiterating New Delhi’s long-standing position, Singh asserted that “Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.” “Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. No amount of wishful rhetoric or audacious propaganda by Pakistan can alter the immutable fact that the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was completely legal and irrevocable, in accordance with the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and international law,” Singh said.She added that “the only outstanding dispute regarding this region is the illegal occupation of Indian territories by Pakistan,” and called on Islamabad to vacate areas under its control.Highlighting infrastructure and economic progress in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh referred to the Chenab Rail Bridge, describing it as the world’s highest railway bridge inaugurated in the region last year. “If the Chenab Rail Bridge, the world’s highest bridge, inaugurated in Jammu and Kashmir last year, is fake, then Pakistan must be hallucinating or living in the ‘La-la-land'”, she said.“Or perhaps it finds it unbelievable that the developmental budget of Jammu and Kashmir is more than double the recent bailout package it sought from the IMF,” she added.Responding to criticism on democratic processes, Singh said it was “hard to take lectures on democracy from a country where civilian governments rarely complete their terms.”She pointed to voter turnout in recent general and assembly elections in J&K as evidence that people in the region have “rejected the ideology of terrorism and violence” and are moving ahead on the path of development.Singh further accused Pakistan of attempting to destabilise the region through “relentless state-sponsored terrorism,” while maintaining that J&K continues to make political, economic and social progress.“Pakistan would do well if it focuses on fixing its deepening internal crisis rather than masking it with grandstanding at such a platform,” she said, adding that “the world can certainly see through its charade.”The exchange marks the latest round of sharp diplomatic sparring between India and Pakistan at multilateral forums such as the UNHRC over the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.