In a forceful response to Pakistan's recent mention of Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Human Rights Council, India emphasized its stance, highlighting Pakistan's involvement in global terrorism and its domestic challenges.
Representing India at the high-level segment of the 55th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Anupama Singh, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, utilized India’s Right of Reply to address statements made by Turkey and Pakistan regarding Kashmir.
Singh expressed regret over Turkey's comments on an internal matter of India, urging for refraining from unsolicited remarks on India's internal affairs in the future.
“Firstly, we regret the comment made by Turkiye on a matter that is an internal affair of India and hope that it would refrain from making unsolicited comments on our internal matters in the future,” Singh said.
India directed a stern rebuke towards Pakistan, emphasizing its inability to entertain further discourse with a nation engulfed in multiple crises. Singh pointed out Pakistan's association with terrorism, reflected in the bloodshed it sponsors globally, its precarious financial situation, and the failure of its government to serve its citizens' interests effectively. She highlighted Pakistan's hosting of UN Security Council-sanctioned terrorists, juxtaposing it with India's pluralistic ethos and democratic credentials.
“we cannot pay any further attention to a country that speaks while being soaked in red – the red of the bloodshed from the terrorism it sponsors around the world; the red of its debt-riddled national balance sheets; and the red of the shame its own people feel for their government having failed to serve their actual interests,” Singh said.
Singh criticized Pakistan's extensive references to India, labeling them as baseless allegations, and reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India. She underscored that India's constitutional measures in Jammu and Kashmir aim at socio-economic development and good governance, emphasizing their internal nature.
Singh dismissed Pakistan's standing to comment on India's internal affairs, citing Pakistan's record of persecuting its minorities and its dismal human rights situation. She contrasted Pakistan's stagnation with India's progress in economic development and social justice, citing instances like the brutal persecution of Christian communities in Jaranwala city in Pakistan in August 2023 as evidence of Pakistan's internal challenges.
A country that hosts and even celebrates UN Security Council-sanctioned terrorists, “commenting on India whose pluralistic ethos and democratic credentials are exemplars for the world, is a contrast for everyone to see,” she said, in an apparent reference to terror outfit leaders like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar enjoying the backing of the government in Pakistan.
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