India lashes out at Imran’s ‘hate speech’
CURBS IN KASHMIR TIGHTENED TO PREVENT PROTESTS
India has criticised Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s address to the United Nation General Assembly, saying his comments bordered on crudeness. Islamabad has “ventured to upstream terrorism and downstream hate speech, while New Delhi was going ahead with mainstreaming development in Jammu and Kashmir”.
Using strong words, Vidisha Maitra, First Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs, exercising India’s right of reply to Imran’s speech, said on Friday night: “Rarely has the General Assembly witnessed such misuse, rather abuse, of an opportunity to reflect.”
She said the choice of Khan’s words to attack India, like “pogrom”, “bloodbath”, “racial superiority”, “pick up the gun” and “fight to the end”, reflected a “medieval mindset and not a 21st Century vision”.
She said Pakistan’s “virulent reaction to the removal of an outdated and temporary provision [Article 370] that was hindering development and integration of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir stems from the fact that those who thrive on conflict never welcome the ray of peace”.
Meanwhile, authorities in Indian-administrated Kashmir tightened restrictions on people’s movements yesterday to prevent possible protests following Imran’s speech.
Imran, in his address to the UN, warned of a bloodbath once India lifts its restrictions in Kashmir, which have been in force since it revoked the region’s autonomy in August.
Soon after the speech, hundreds of Kashmiris came out of their homes, shouting slogans in support of Imran late on Friday night and calling for the independence of Kashmir.
Aheavy spell of retreating monsoon rains has flooded wide areas in northern India, killing dozens of people this week, an official said Saturday.
Sandhaya Kureel, a spokeswoman of the Disaster Management and Relief Department, said most of the 59 fatalities were caused by house collapses, lightning and drowning in Uttar Pradesh state. These included at least five people dying of snake bites in flooded areas.
The temple city of Varanasi was lashed by 19 centimetres of rain on Thursday and Friday, flooding the bathing areas of the Ganges River used by thousands of Hindu pilgrims. Schools were shut on Saturday as the downpour caused disruptions in the state capital, Lucknow, and several towns, including Amethi and Hardoi.
Showers expected to ebb
J.P. Gupta, director of the state Meteorological Department, said the rain is expected to ebb after Monday.
The Press Trust of India news agency said the western state of Maharashtra was also hit by heavy rain and nearly 3,000 people were moved to higher ground due to flooding in low-lying areas of Pune city and neighbouring areas.
Train services were temporarily suspended on the Samastipur-Darbhanga and Gaya-Koderma routes in Bihar due to continuing heavy rains on Saturday morning. Some trains from the AraSasaram-Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay junction were also cancelled.