Exercising its right of reply at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), India on Friday countered Pakistan's criticism of the country's defence acquisitions and said that Islamabad's obsession with India was a sign of misplaced priorities, and advised its leadership to focus on working for the benefit of their own population.
"Pakistan's obsession with India while its population battle for their lives, livelihood and freedom is an indication of the state's misplaced priorities. I would advise its leadership and officials to focus their energies on working for the benefit of their own population instead of baseless propaganda," India's representative Seema Pujani was quoted as saying by NDTV.
She also expressed regret over the comments made by the Turkish representative and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir.
"We regret the comments made by Turkiye on a matter that is an internal affair of India and advise it to refrain from making unsolicited comments on our internal matters," Seema Pujani said.
Pujani rejected the unwarranted references made by the OIC on the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, stating that the entire territories of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have always been and will always be part of India. She added that Pakistan is in illegal occupation of Indian territory and that the OIC has let Pakistan hijack and misuse its platform for carrying out malicious propaganda against India.
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"Instead of calling upon its member Pakistan to give up state-sponsored terrorism and to lift its occupation of Indian territory, OIC has let Pakistan hijack and misuse its platform for carrying out its nefarious agenda of engaging in malicious propaganda against India," she added.
Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, had earlier accused India of dehumanising the Kashmiri people and punishing them collectively by demolishing residential homes and terminating land leases. She further added that political expediency had allowed the Hindutva regime to falsely equate the legitimate pursuit of rights with terrorism.
India's response to Pakistan's criticism comes amid the ongoing tensions between the two countries over various issues, including terrorism and the Kashmir conflict. The right of reply is a mechanism provided by the UNHRC that enables member states to respond to allegations made against them during council meetings.
