In a befitting reply to Pakistan, India exercised its 'Right of Reply' in response to references to New Delhi stating that the nation that has institutionalised the systemic persecution of its minorities and has a truly abysmal human rights record has no right to comment on India.
Exercising the 'Right of Reply' at the High-Level Segment of the 55th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday, First Secretary Anupama Singh said that regarding Pakistan's lengthy mentions of India, it is very regrettable that the Council's forum has once again been abused to propagate flagrantly false accusations about India.
"The entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and the constitutional measures taken by the Government of India to ensure socio-economic development and good governance in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are matters internal to India. Pakistan has no locus standi to pronounce on matters that are internal to India," she added.
Terming Pakistan's human rights record as "truly abysmal," the First Secretary remarked by saying, "A country that has institutionalised the systemic persecution of its own minorities and has a truly abysmal human rights record, commenting on India, which is demonstrably making great strides in achieving economic progress and social justice, is not merely ironical but perverse."
"A glaring example was the large scale brutality perpetrated against the minority Christian community in Jaranwala city, Pakistan in August 2023, when 19 churches were gutted and 89 Christian houses burnt down. A country that hosts and even celebrates UNSC-sanctioned terrorists, commenting on India whose pluralistic ethos and democratic credentials are exemplars for the world, is a contrast for everyone to see," she added.
Singh also said that the Pakistan government has failed to serve the actual interests of its citizens, and added that Pakistan sponsors terrorism around the world.
"We cannot pay any further attention to a country that speaks while being soaked in 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," she concluded.
The 55th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council is taking place from February 26-April 5.
India had in August last year said that an environment free of terror and hostilities was imperative for normal ties with Pakistan.
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