“Vituperative mudslinging,” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor rebuts Pakistan at Inter-Parliamentary Union, UN 

Speaking at the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Shashi Tharoor slammed Pakistan when it raised the Kashmir issue at yet another international forum. Beginning with a strong stance of calling out Pakistan’s misrepresentation of facts, Dr Tharoor pointed out Pakistan’s hypocrisy at every step of his speech. He was speaking in rebuttal to a “vitriolic outburst” of the diplomat from Pakistan.

“It is frankly absurd to hear fulminations about respect for human rights from representative of such a state when terrorism is the worst possible destroyer of human rights,” he said while asserting Pakistan has no right to be acting as the champion of human rights when it has failed in proving that it holds human rights as an important part of the country’s identity.

Asking why Pakistan has not fulfilled the first steps of any international resolution, that is, to “vacate its illegal occupation of POK”, Dr Tharoor wondered why Pakistan talks about UN resolutions when it never partakes in its responsibility towards the same.
Ending the rebuttal with yet another powerful sentence, Dr Tharoor once again proved he has a way with words. “People living in glass houses, Mr Chairman, should not throw stones at others,” he said.

Full text of Dr. Tharoor’s speech:

Before entering into what I came here to say, I regret that the vitriolic outburst of a panellist resorted to blatant misrepresention of facts and recycling a false narrative peddled by his country for its own narrow political objectives and petty territorial ambitions. This is a disappointing misuse of this platform. Pakistan has raised an issue that is internal to India. As an Opposition parliamentarian, I have raised and will continue to debate the Kashmir issue, and other questions with my own government in the exercise of my democratic rights as an MP. But the kind of statements that we heard from the Pakistani diplomat today is distinctively unhelpful. It is particularly ironic that a state that is responsible for inflicting countless cross-border terrorist attacks on Jammu and Kashmir masquerades as a champion of International Law. Pakistan is the only government in the world that provides a pension to an individual listed by the United Nations in the Al Qaeda sanctions list. Pakistan is home to 130 UN designated terrorists and 25 terrorist entities listed by the UN. It is frankly absurd to hear fulminations about respect for human rights from representative of such a state when terrorism is the worst possible destroyer of human rights.

I do want to say, we expect better from an IPU forum than this kind of vituperative mudslinging. We’re here to discuss a serious issue of respect for International Law in a constructive spirit. We hear Pakistan referring to the United Nations Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir but it conveniently forgets its own obligation under the very first resolution: To first vacate its illegal occupation of POK. It has blatantly disregarded other its other commitments under International Law, whether it is the 1972 Simla Agreement of the February Lahore declaration of 1999. People living in glass houses, Mr Chairman, should not throw stones at others.