On Tuesday, India responded strongly after Pakistan once again raised the Jammu and Kashmir issue during a United Nations debate on peacekeeping reforms. India called on its neighbour to vacate the parts of the region it has "occupied illegally." Speaking at the UN Security Council, India's Permanent Representative, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, rejected Pakistan’s repeated mention of Jammu and Kashmir, calling it 'unwarranted.' He firmly reaffirmed that the region "was, is, and will always remain an integral part of India."

"India is compelled to note that the delegate of Pakistan has yet again resorted to unwarranted remarks on the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Such repeated references neither validate their illegal claims nor justify their state-sponsored cross-border terrorism," Harish stated.

The Indian envoy reaffirmed India’s long-held stance on the issue, stating that "Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will always be an integral part of India." He also pointed out that Pakistan persists in occupying regions of Jammu and Kashmir illegally and repeated that it "must vacate" the territory.

"Pakistan continues to illegally occupy the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which it must vacate. We would advise Pakistan not to try to divert the attention of this forum to drive their parochial and divisive agenda. India will refrain from exercising a more elaborate Right of Reply," he stated.

Harish responded sharply after Syed Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Pakistani Prime Minister, brought up the Jammu and Kashmir issue during a UN Security Council debate on the future of peacekeeping. Just last week, India also criticised Pakistan at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meeting in Geneva, dismissing its claims of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

"India is exercising its right of reply in response to the baseless and malicious references made by Pakistan. It is regrettable to see Pakistan’s so-called leaders and delegates continuing to dutifully spread falsehoods handed down by its military-terrorist complex," Indian envoy Kshitij Tyagi conveyed.

India has expressed its desire for normal and peaceful ties with Pakistan. It insists that it is Islamabad’s responsibility to create an environment free from terrorism and hostility for any meaningful dialogue to happen.