Pakistan Raises Kashmir Issue At South Asian Speakers Summit In Male; India Hits Back

Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh pointed out that cross border terrorism is the biggest issue for peace and security in the region.

Dy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh (left) rebutted Dy Speaker of Pakistan National Assembly in Maldives Parliament after the latter raised Kashmir issue/ Images: ANI

New Delhi: India on Sunday hit out at Pakistan on international forum over its stand on Kashmir, during the South Asian Speakers' Summit in the Maldives. Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh pointed out that cross border terrorism is the biggest issue for peace and security in the region. India’s response came after Pakistani side tried to raise the issue of abrogation of Article 370 provisions on Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistani representative referred to the Kashmir issue after which a point of order was raised by India and a strong rebuttal was given by Harviansh. "We strongly object to raising the internal issue of India here and we also reject the politicisation of  this forum by raising issues which are extraneous to this summit," Harviansh said. The Indian delegation in the summit is led by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories. Pakistan has been trying to raise the issue at various international fora, but India has maintained that it is an internal matter. New agency ANI tweeted a footage of the heated exchange between the two speakers. Watch here.

#WATCH Harivansh, Dy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, in Maldives Parliament after Dy Speaker of Pakistan National Assembly raised Kashmir issue: We strongly object raising of internal matter of India in the forum.There's need for Pak to end cross-border terrorism for regional peace... pic.twitter.com/vN2MwWhAEM

— ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2019