Meet Sneha Dubey, the young diplomat hailed for her fiery response to Pakistan's Imran Khan at UN

India denounced Pakistan as a patron of terrorism and a suppressor of minorities in reply to Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s tirade against the country. In a strong rebuttal, Sneha Dubey, India's first secretary, said : “This is the country which is an arsonist disguising itself as a fire-fighter. Pakistan nurtures terrorists in their backyard in the hope that they will only harm their neighbours. Our region, and in fact the entire world, has suffered because of their policies. On the other hand, they are trying to cover up sectarian violence in their country as acts of terror.”

यह एक ऐसा देश (पाकिस्तान) है जो खुद को फायर फाइटर बताकर आगजनी करता है : स्नेहा दुबे, संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासभा में प्रथम सचिव@MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/td48oDowzz

— The Art & Culture (@TheSanskriti_) September 25, 2021

On the issue of the Pakistani prime minister raking up the issue of Kashmir, she emphatically added: “The entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh “were, are and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. This includes the areas that are under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. We call upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation.” Shortly after her speech at the United Nations, #SnehaDubey started trending on Twitter and netizens praised her for powerful speech. So here’s a deep dive on who she is. Sneha, a 2012 batch IFS officer, completed her schooling from Goa. She then received her higher education in Pune’s Fergusson College and finally did her MPhil from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Ever since she was 12-years-old, she wanted to join the Indian Foreign Services and passed the civil services examination in her very first attempt in the year 2011. She states that her inspiration to join the foreign services was a combination of learning about international affairs, the thrill of discovering new cultures, representing the country, being part of important policy decisions and helping people. Sneha, who is fond of travelling, believes that becoming an IFS officer has given her the best opportunity to represent the country. Sneha is the first in her family to join the government services. Her father works in a multinational company while her mother is a school teacher. After being selected for the foreign service, Sneha Dubey’s first appointment was in the Ministry of External Affairs. Then in August 2014, she was sent to the Indian Embassy in Madrid. Sneha is currently India’s first secretary at the United Nations. Twitter users were full of praise after Dubey’s video surfaced. One user said, “What a way to shut the mouths of the jokers in Pakistan… every word was so carefully chosen… full of facts… brilliant.” Another wrote, #Indian #Nari_Shakti… #India’s first secretary in the United Nations, Sneha Dubey, responded to #Pak PM #Imran’s ‘record’ speech. Some Twitter users were also quick to compare Dubey to India’s prior women officers who have countered Pakistan at the United Nations. “India’s women diplomats to the UN are brilliant. Eenam Gambhir, Vidisha Maitra and now this fiery right-of-reply by Sneha Dubey!”

India's women diplomats to the UN are brilliant 🔥

Eenam Gambhir, Vidisha Maitra and now this fiery right-of-reply by Sneha Dubey! #UNGA https://t.co/dMudyiDfTj

— Shriram (@shriramsays) September 25, 2021

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With inputs from agencies