United Nations: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday launched a stinging attack against Pakistan at the UN, saying India had grown as an IT superpower while Pakistan has emerged as a pre-eminent factory for the export of terror in the 70 years of the independence of the two countries.
"We are fighting poverty. But our neighbour Pakistan seems only engaged in fighting us," she said in her address to the United Nations General Assembly, and responding to Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khakan Abbasi's allegations that India was sponsoring terrorism.
She threw a taunt at the Pakistan Prime Minister while referring to his accusations that India was violating human rights in Jammu and Kashmir: "Those listening to him (Abbasi) had only one observation: 'Look who is talking'."
"A country that has been the world's greatest exporter of havoc, death and inhumanity became a champion of hypocrisy by preaching about humanity from this podium.
"I would like today to tell Pakistan's politicians just this much, that perhaps the wisest thing they could do is to look within. India and Pakistan became free within hours of each other. Why is it that India today is a recognised IT superpower in the world and Pakistan recognised only as the pre-eminent export factory for terror."?
She said while India fought terrorism exported by Pakistan it did not neglect development work at home.
"We created IITs, IIMs, AIIMS while Pakistan created LeT, Haqqanis, JeM, Hizbul Mujahideen," she said, referring to Pakistan-based terror groups.
Sushma Swaraj asked the UN not to see terrorism with "self-defeating and indeed meaningless nuance".
"Evil is evil. Let us accept that terrorism is an existentialist danger to human kind. There is absolutely no justification for this barbaric violence. Let us display our new commitment by reaching an agreement on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism this year itself," she urged.
Her speech comes after India, in its Right of Reply to Abbasi's speech, termed Pakistan as "Terroristan".