UNITED NATIONS: Pakistani and Indian delegates engaged in a sharp verbal duel at the United Nations on Friday night after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif drew the world`s attention to India`s policy of brutal coercion and oppression in held Kashmir.

The Indian delegate, Bhavika Mangalanandan, reacted to the prime minister`s hard-hitting speech at the UN General Assembly in which he referred to New Delhi`s threats and arms build-up.

He warned that Islamabad would respond `most decisively` to any aggression by India.

Ms Mangalanandan, first secretary in the Indian Mission to the UN, claimed that Jammu and Kashmir was India`s internal matter and accused Pakistan of `cross-border terrorism`.

She also commented on Pakistan`s domestic matters.

Exercising his right of reply, Pakistani delegate Muhammad Faheem dismissed his Indian counterpart`s false narrative, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognised disputed territory.

`It has never been, nor will ever be, a part of India, nor is it an internal matter,` Mr Faheem said.

`Yet, instead of honouring its obligations, India has chosen the path of repression, subjecting the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people for self-determination through a brutal and oppressive occupation,` MrFaheem, third secretary in the Pakistan Mission to the UN, said.

`India`s illegal and unilateral actions of Aug 5, 2019, further intensified this occupation, with nearly one million soldiers deployed to suppress the Kashmiris` legitimate aspirations, he added.

India`s crimes in held Kashmir are `heinous and committed with impunity`, with innocent civilians targeted through staged encounters, extrajudicial killings, and collective punishment, the Pakistani delegate added.

`Entire villages have been razed, the entire Kashmiri political leadership remains incarcerated, and a media blackout continues to stifle independent voices, the Pakistani delegate said.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a number of special rapporteurs have documented these widespread violations, callingfor the investigation of human rights violations in India-occupied Kashmir, he pointed out.

Rejecting the Indian delegate`s allegations of terrorism, Mr Faheem said: `It is ironic that a country which uses terrorism as an instrument of state policy, should attempt to point fingers at others.

`India, which has been sponsoring terrorism and orchestrating assassination campaigns worldwide, is hardly in a position to lecture others on the issue.`-APP