'Can't tell victim from perpetrator': India hits back at OIC over terror action remarks

India on Tuesday rebuked the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over its remarks on New Delhi's action against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, saying the group is "unable to distinguish between the victim and perpetrator".

"I now respond to the statement made by the OIC Chair regarding India's focused and measured action against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed. It is unfortunate that the speaker is unable to distinguish between fact and fiction and cannot differentiate between the victim and the perpetrator,” BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb said at the UN General Assembly.

“India has the full right to protect its people against terrorism on the border coming from Pakistan. The consequences of being involved in terrorism will not be tolerated,” he added.

The Lok Sabha MP from West Tripura delivered India's national statement at the UN General Assembly Sixth Committee on 'Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism'. He is part of a visiting delegation of 15 MPs, who arrived here for their UN familiarisation week.

Deb said India understands from "bitter experience" that the threat of terrorism is not theoretical but is a "persistent and daily reality".“This threat has serious implications for international peace and security, economic progress, democratic institutions and human rights. It attacks the most fundamental right of every human being- the right to life,” he said.

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“For decades, our people have suffered from cross-border terrorism," he said, adding that the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April last year – in which 26 tourists were killed – again demonstrated the devastating human cost of terrorism.

"The Pahalgam terror attack was a calculated assault on our sovereignty, planned and executed by networks that continue to enjoy state patronage, safe havens, and material and logistical support from across our western border," he said.

“Terrorism is contrary to the values of the United Nations. Deliberately targeting civilians can never be justified in any manner. There is no distinction between good and bad terrorism. India considers terrorist attacks as crimes against humanity. As India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, 'We consider that even a single attack is one too many and even a single life lost is one too many'..,” he added.

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Healso rejected OIC's “unwarranted reference” to the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

"The OIC chair would do better to focus on Pakistan's illegal occupation, especially in Rawalakot, where wanton killings, brutal violence and the denial of basic rights to the people living there are so visible. Such willful blindness only speaks of bigotry and intolerance," he said.

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The PoK region has seen protests for several months over 12 contentious refugee seats, prompting a crackdown by security forces and allegations of rigging in the recent elections to the so-called legislative assembly. Saudi Arabia made the statement on behalf of the OIC at the UNGA Sixth Committee, which handles legal issues.