‘Survives on international handouts’: India hits out at Pakistan over Kashmir remarks at Geneva meet
United Nations/Geneva (PTI): India has slammed Pakistan after it raked the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in the UN Human Rights Council, saying the "failed state” that survives on “international handouts” “dutifully” spreads “falsehoods handed down by its military-terrorist complex.”
India exercised its Right of Reply at the high-level segment of the 58th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday to lodge a strong retort to Pakistan after it raised, as it habitually does, the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the multilateral global organisation.
“India is exercising its Right of Reply in response to the baseless and malicious references made by Pakistan. It is regrettable, yet unsurprising, to see Pakistan’s so-called leaders and delegates continuing to dutifully spread falsehoods handed down by its military-terrorist complex,” Counsellor at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva Kshitij Tyagi said.
Delivering India’s powerful response, Tyagi said it is unfortunate that this Council’s time continues to be “wasted by a failed state, which thrives on instability and survives on international handouts. Its rhetoric reeks of hypocrisy; its actions, of inhumanity; and its governance, of incompetence.”
Asserting that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were, are and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India, Tyagi said the unprecedented political, social and economic progress in Jammu and Kashmir in the past few years speaks for itself.
“These successes are a testament to the people’s trust in the government’s commitment to bring normalcy to a region scarred by decades of Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism,” he said.
He emphasised that as a country where human rights abuses, persecution of minorities and systematic erosion of democratic values constitute state policies, and which brazenly harbours UN-sanctioned terrorists, Pakistan is in no position to lecture anyone.
“Instead of its unhealthy obsession with India, Pakistan should focus on providing actual governance and justice to its own people,” he said.
Tyagi further said that Pakistan is even making a mockery of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) by “abusing it as its mouthpiece, which is fooling nobody. We do not wish to dignify such propaganda, but are constrained to make a few simple points for the record.”
Underlining that India remains focused on democracy, progress, and ensuring dignity for all its people, Tyagi said these are values that Pakistan would do well to learn from.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
