Photojournalist Heidi Levine has said that she was shocked to see the photograph of a violence victim she had taken in Gaza being passed off as that of a Kashmiri girl by Pakistan at the UN on Saturday.
Pakistan's Permanent Representative Maleeha Lodhi had brandished the girl's photo to back her country's charges of Indian "atrocities" against civilians in Jammu and Kashmir. The photo turned out to be that of 17-year-old Rawya Abu Jom, wounded in Israeli airstrikes in 2014.
"I was very shocked to see my photograph misused," said the American freelance photojournalist.
"I am hoping that somehow this mistake was done by an assistant to Ms Lohdi," said the American freelance photojournalist.
Levine said that it is disrespectful to claim that Rawya is the face of India. "This young woman is still suffering both psychologically and physically to recover from her injuries and the loss of family members," said Levine, who is based in Jerusalem.
She has worked as a professional photojournalist since 1983.
"It is most important that we uphold the truth which includes all members of society including journalists and diplomats," she said.
The Palestine girl's photo had been featured in many photo galleries online, including by the New York Times and the Guardian. But on Saturday, the official Twitter account of the Pakistani mission to the UN also tweeted it.
"Normally a photographer would be thrilled to have his photograph shown in the hall of the UN Assembly but unfortunately this is not the case for me," Levine said.
Lodhi was trying to counter Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's blistering attack on Pakistan hours earlier. Swaraj had described Pakistan as a "pre-eminent export factory for terror". Exercising the right of reply, Lodhi claimed that Swaraj was "indulging in an orgy of slander against Pakistan".
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