'India Has Fundamentally Changed': Pakistan FM Bilawal Bhutto Rakes Up Kashmir Issue In New York

"I haven't seen any signs of it, at the moment. India is not one of the countries that have offered assistance. We we have consistently strong advocacy for engagement with India," said Zardari

Even as the flood situation remains grim in Pakistan, foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday again raked up Kashmir issue in New York instead of focusing on funds to tackle the crisis in what has been termed as the "second disaster" by the World Health Organisation. Zardari dragged the Kashmir issue in a session on the sidelines of the high-level UNGA meeting in New York and said Islamabada hasn't seen any signs of rebuilding relations with India, reported news agency ANI.

"I haven't seen any signs of it, at the moment. India is not one of the countries that have offered assistance. As far as my party is concerned, my PM's party is concerned, we are trying to create a peaceful environment with India, and we have consistently strong advocacy for engagement with India. But India has fundamentally changed," said zardari at UNGA, as reorted by the news agency.

Claiming difficulty in engaging with India, Pakistan's finance minister said, "I think the younger people do have the space in the sense that we are not carrying the baggage of the past as much. Unfortunately, as I mention, even for there of us, in Pakistan, who have been strong advocates for peace with India and engagement with India, the actions of August 2019 have really, truly made it incredibly difficult for us." He further said, "US Pakistan ties stand on own merit...we have historic ties."

Earlier Zardari made claims at the UN that India is transforming into a Hindu supremacist state and raked Kashmir issue.

"At the OIC Contact Group on Jammu Kashmir, I highlighted grave human rights and humanitarian situation in IIOJK. Contact Group adopted a joint communique reaffirming strong support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for self-determination UNGA77 OIC," he tweeted for having highlighted the Kashmir issue at UNGA.

India's Joint Secretary of UNES (UN Economic and Social), Srinivas Gotru offered a befitting response saying that it is ironic that Islamabad who itself has "committed a grievous violation of minority rights," is speaking about the rights of minorities.

While speaking at the UN high-level meeting on the Rights of Minorities, Gotru said, "It is ironic that Pakistan is speaking about the rights of minorities. For a country that has even stopped publishing its data to hide its same shameful record, it is amazing that they have even brought up this subject. It has a long history of having committed a grievous violation of minority rights that the world has ever seen."