'Hosting Bin Laden, attack on Parliament...': India's strong response after Pakistan raised Kashmir issue at UNSC

NEW YORK: In a tit-for-tat response, India slammed Pakistan for raising the Kashmir issue in the UN Security Council. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that a country that protected the slain al-Qaeda terrorist Osama Bin Laden and attacked the parliament of a neighbouring country is not qualified to 'sermonize' before the UN.

The foreign minister also pointed out that the UN's credibility depends on its response to the major challenges we face, be it climate change, conflict or terrorism.

"While we search for the best solutions, what our discourse must never accept is the normalization of such threats. The question of justifying what the world regards as unacceptable should not even arise. That certainly applies to state sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. Nor can hosting Osama bin Laden and attacking a neighbouring Parliament serve as credentials to sermonize before this Council," he said.

Eighteen years ago, on December 13, terrorists from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) stormed the Parliament complex in Delhi and opened fire. Nine people were killed in the incident.

Jaishankar's statement came after Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto raised the Kashmir issue during a discussion on relations between the countries at the UN Council.