Holding photo of martyr Lt Umar Faiyaz in one hand, diplomat exposes Pakistan's sham at UNGA
Indian diplomat Paulomi Tripathi tore in to Pakistan at the UNGA, holding two pictures up- A Palestinian girl being imposed as a Kashmiri and martyr Lt Umar Faiyaz's who was killed by terrorists in Kashmir.
Exercising its 'Right of Reply', India gave a stinging response on Monday to Pakistan envoy Maleeha Lodhi raking up the issue of Kashmir and passing off a photo of a Palestinian as a Kashmiri, who allegedly suffered pellet gun injuries on her face during violent clashes in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (J-K).
In its response that stunned the General Assembly, Paulomi Tripathi, a young Indian diplomat handling human rights issue at the Permanent Mission of India in New York- dramatically displayed two photographs declaring, "True face of Pakistan is not hidden from anyone".
In one hand, Tripathi held Lodhi's photo of the Palestinian girl, terming it as a fake photo depicting a false narrative.
In the other hand, she held up a photo of martyred Indian Army officer Lieutenant Umar Faiyaz who was abducted and killed by terrorists in J&K's Shopian district.
"This is a real and not a fake picture of Lt Umar Faiyaz, a young officer from the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Umar Faiyaz was kidnapped at a wedding celebration. He was brutally tortured and killed by Pakistan supported terrorists in May 2017," said Tripathi.
She thrashed Pakistan in an unprecedented manner contrasting Pakistan envoy Maleeha Lodhi's fakery with harsh reality of the havoc Pakistan sponsored terrorists are causing in Jammu and Kashmir.
"This is a true picture. It portrays a harsh and tragic reality. A picture of terrorism emanating from across our borders that the people of India, especially in the state of Jammu and Kashmir have to struggle with, every day. This is the reality which the Permanent Representative of Pakistan sought to obfuscate," she added.
India exercised its 'Right of Reply' (RoR) on the last day of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). This was in response to the RoR exercised by Pakistan in response to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, where Pakistani envoy Maleeha Lodhi accused India of adopting a 'predatory' approach in the region.
The Pakistan ambassador, acting in haste to corner India used the picture of Palestinian victim to pass off as a Kashmiri woman who was allegedly injured in pellet firing by Indian security forces.
The picture which she confidently displayed is actually of a girl named Rawya Abu Jom'a (17), who was injured when two Israeli airstrikes hit her family's apartment in Gaza during the 2014 war.
Paulomi Tripathi accused Lodhi of yet again seeking to divert attention from Pakistan's role as the hub of global terrorism. "She did so by callously holding up a picture of an injured girl," she exclaimed.
India waited patiently to formulate its RoR against the Pakistani tirade. Pakistan now stands accused of misleading the UN by producing false evidence on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly.