The United Nations has said it hopes for a dialogue between India and Pakistan. The statement follows a bitter exchange of words between the two nuclear-weapon nations during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session on September 24. Pakistan alleged that India perpetuates Islamophobia. India, meanwhile, said Pakistan was a “arsonist in firefighter disguise” and accused it of “harboring terrorists”.

At the United Nations General Assembly, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accused India of a “reign of terror” over Muslims. Reacting to the accusation, Sneha Dubey, first secretary of the Indian UN mission, said Pakistan had “sheltered and glorified the mastermind of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden”, who was killed by US special forces during a 2011 raid in the military city of Abbottabad.

“We keep hearing that Pakistan is a ‘victim of terrorism’. It is the country which is an arsonist disguising himself as a firefighter. Pakistan is feeding terrorists in their backyards in the hope that they will only harm their neighbors. Our region, and indeed the whole world, has suffered because of their policies. On the other hand, they try to cover up the sectarian violence in their country as acts of terror, ”said Sneha Dubey.

Despite these strong statements between the two countries, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary General, sought to minimize them on September 27. When asked if the UN is concerned about such quarrels and if the UN secretary general plans to speak to the leaders of the two neighboring countries, he said: “We have heard the remarks and I believes that despite the tone and content of the remarks, we still have the hope that the dialogue can take place, perhaps in a place that is not in the spotlight. ”

Earlier this year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “encouraged” by the announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and that he hoped the two countries would accept a dialogue.