“Really extremely disappointing”: India rebukes Pakistan for raising Kashmir issue in UN Council

India’s First Secretary Anupama Singh gave a statement in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

New Delhi:

India today gave a strong reply to Pakistan’s allegations regarding Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Human Rights Council, saying a country with such a “bad” record should not interfere in the internal affairs of another country. Exercising its ‘right of reply’, India said that Pakistan has no right to comment on India’s internal affairs.

In the 55th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, India’s First Secretary Anupama Singh said that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inseparable part of India. He said it is unfortunate that the council has again been misused to propagate false allegations against India.

Anupama Singh said, “With respect to the broader context of India’s standoff with Pakistan, we note that it is extremely unfortunate that the Council’s forum has once again been misused to make patently false allegations against India.”

India exercises right of reply against Pakistan #HRC55pic.twitter.com/rdTMVWYmFT

– India at the United Nations, Geneva (@IndiaUNGeneva) 28 February 2024

The Indian diplomat highlighted the irony of Pakistan’s stance, describing its human rights record as “really disappointing”. He pointed to a specific incident of persecution against the Christian community in Jaranwala city in August 2023, where 19 churches were destroyed and 89 Christian houses were burnt.

He said, “A country that has institutionalized the systemic oppression of its own minorities and whose human rights record is truly abysmal, commenting on India, which is clearly making great strides in achieving economic progress and social justice.” is not only ironic, but also distorted.” ,

Ms Singh also drew attention to Pakistan’s support for UNSC-sanctioned terrorists and accused the country of sponsoring terrorism globally. He concluded by saying that India cannot afford to pay too much attention to a country mired in the bloodshed of terrorism, a debt-ridden national balance sheet and the embarrassment caused to its people by the failure of its government to serve its interests.

The UNHRC session, which started on 26 February, will continue till 5 April. The exchanges between India and Pakistan are part of the broader diplomatic discourse between the two countries. In August last year, India had stressed the need for an environment free from terror and hostility for normal relations with Pakistan. The Ministry of External Affairs expressed desire for normal neighborly relations and stressed the importance of a terrorism-free environment.

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar had earlier said in an interview that Pakistan’s future depends on its actions and choices. He suggested that it was up to Pakistan to find a way out of its economic problems, including declining foreign exchange reserves, high inflation and sharp depreciation of its currency.