New Delhi, September 15: The Indian representative at the United Nations retaliated to the criticism made by the UN human rights' body chief over the situation in Kashmir. The move to abrogate Article 370, along with the recent changes made in domicile law, were defended by India as measures to grant fundamental rights and deliver socio-economic justice to all marginalised sections of Jammu & Kashmir. J&K, Ladakh Fully Integrated into Mainstream of the Country After Article 370 Scrapped: Indian Govt.

Indra Mani Pandey, who is New Delhi's permanent representative at the UN, blamed "one country" for the incidents of militancy in Kashmir - apparently referring to Pakistan. The pace of development is continuing in the Valley despite the cross-border terrorism, the Indian official added.

"We have been able to revive grass root democracy and provide a new momentum to social and economic development, despite the challenge posed by [the] Covid-19 pandemic and persistent attempts by one country to infiltrate terrorists to derail this process by all possible means," Pandey said.

Referring to last year's abrogation of Article 370  - the law that provided semi-autonomous status to J&K - Pandey said the repeal of legislation has allowed the residents of frontier union territory to "enjoy fundamental rights" as enshrined to other Indian citizens.

Michelle Bachelet, the UN human rights chief commissioner, had condemned the internet restrictions in the Valley while also marking concern over incidents of "incidents of military and police violence against civilians". She further claimed that the legal changes to the Constitution and domicile laws have generated "deep anxiety" among locals.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 16, 2020 12:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).