The President of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, has done “great disservice” to the office that he occupies with his comments on Kashmir, India said on Friday. The response came after Mr. Bozkir, during his just concluded Pakistan trip, urged India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue and supported Pakistan’s right to raise the issue at the global platform.
“We express our strong opposition to the unwarranted references made with respect to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the President of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA) Volkan Bozkir during his recent visit to Pakistan,” said Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Mr. Bozkir during his recent visit to Pakistan urged not to change the status of Kashmir. “I think it is the duty, especially Pakistan’s, to bring this issue to the United Nation platform more strongly,” said Mr. Bozkir, who also made comparison between Kashmir and the Israel-Palestine issue.
“His remarks that Pakistan is ‘duty-bound’ to raise this issue in the UN more strongly are unacceptable. Nor indeed is there any basis to other global situations,” said Mr. Bagchi.
Mr. Bozkir is a veteran Turkish diplomat and he met Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday in Islamabad.
“When an incumbent President of the UN General Assembly makes misleading and prejudiced remarks, he does great disservice to the office he occupies. The PGA’s behaviour is truly regrettable and surely diminishes his standing on the global platform,” said Mr. Bagchi.