India on Thursday mounted a sharp attack on Pakistan at the United Nations Human Rights Council, telling Islamabad that neither “exporting terror” nor its “theatrics” at international forums would help repay the loans on which its economy survives. Exercising India’s right of reply, diplomat Kshitij Tyagi also rejected Pakistan’s remarks on Jammu and Kashmir and turned the focus on Islamabad’s record on terrorism, minorities and the human rights situation in territories under its control.
“Pakistan would better serve its people by focusing on development, rather than by coveting territory of others or exporting terror, because neither these, nor its theatrics in the Council, would help repay the loans its economy survives on,” Tyagi said. His remarks came during an exchange at the UNHRC in Geneva in which Pakistan had raised Kashmir and minority rights in India.
India raises Kashmir issue
Tyagi reiterated New Delhi’s position that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India and called upon Pakistan to vacate the territory it controls. “Since Pakistan appears to need the reminder under every agenda item: Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. The only part of Jammu and Kashmir under foreign occupation is the part Pakistan holds, which we again call upon it to vacate,” he said.
The Indian diplomat also referred to the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 and accused Pakistan of supporting terrorists responsible for violence in Jammu and Kashmir. He said those targeted by terrorism subsequently included Kashmiris belonging to different faiths, including Muslims, and questioned Pakistan’s demand for an international inquiry.
“Those same terrorists have since killed Kashmiris of every faith, many of them Muslim. The State that sponsored them is now asking this Council for an inquiry. The irony will not be lost on this Council,” Tyagi said.
Questions Pakistan’s rights record
India also used its response to raise allegations of human rights violations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Tyagi referred to reports of civilian deaths since June, arrests of students in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and restrictions on essential supplies, including food and medicines, and accused Pakistan of responding to such concerns through procedural objections at the Council.
“This Council was told last Friday of scores of civilians killed since June in the territory Pakistan occupies, of students arrested in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and of food and medicine held back. When those accounts were given, Pakistan’s answer was a point of order,” Tyagi said, adding that Pakistan itself warranted scrutiny by the Council.
Tyagi also rejected Pakistan’s criticism of India’s treatment of religious minorities, saying minorities in India participated across democratic and public institutions. He contrasted this with what he described as the shrinking numbers and continuing difficulties faced by Hindu, Sikh and Christian communities in Pakistan, while also raising concerns over the treatment of Shias, Ahmadiyyas, Ismailis and Hazaras.
Indus Waters row resurfaces
The exchange at the UNHRC came as India and Pakistan remained locked in another diplomatic dispute over the Indus Waters Treaty. Pakistan recently circulated a letter at the UN Security Council concerning a pronouncement by a Court of Arbitration dealing with the treaty, a move New Delhi rejected.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal accused Pakistan of misrepresenting the legal development and reiterated India’s position that it did not recognise the tribunal. He said the pronouncement cited by Islamabad was not a ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration as Pakistan had projected, but of what India considers an “illegally-constituted court”.
The latest exchanges underline the continuing diplomatic confrontation between the two countries at multilateral forums, where Jammu and Kashmir, terrorism and the Indus Waters Treaty have repeatedly emerged as points of contention. India has maintained that Pakistan must take credible action against cross-border terrorism, while Islamabad has continued to raise Kashmir at international platforms.