NEW DELHI/MALE: India and Pakistan on Sunday had a heated exchange during the South Asian Speakers' Summit in the Maldives after the 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 Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.
"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," Harivansh 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.
The development comes amid the Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi asserting on Sunday that the entire country is united and can protect its stability and sovereignty, amidst the tensions with India over the Jammu and Kashmir issue.
Qureshi has also alleged that India tried in vain to prevent the European Union from accepting Pakistan's request for a discussion on the Kashmir issue on September 2.
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.
Asserting that abrogation of Article 370 was its internal matter, India has strongly criticised Pakistan for making "irresponsible statements" and provocative anti-India rhetoric over issues internal to it.
Qureshi said the world will watch when Prime Minister Imran Khan presents the case of Kashmir at the annual meeting of United Nations on September 27.
He also rejected the media reports that Pakistan was trying to negotiate with India.
"No not at all," he said, adding that every brick would be responded to with a stone.
"Today standing close the Indian border, I along with the Hindu community warn the Modi government that the entire nation is united and can protect the country's stability and sovereignty," the Dawn newspaper quoted Qureshi as saying.