New Delhi: India on Tuesday strongly criticized Pakistan at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), accusing Islamabad of “misusing the platform with baseless and provocative statements against India.” It also sharply reacted to the airstrikes on its own people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, recalling the Pahalgam, Uri, and Mumbai attacks.
Representing India at the 60th session of the Human Rights Council, Kshitij Tyagi, diplomat from India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, said that instead of coveting our territory, Pakistan should vacate the illegally occupied Indian territory. He further said, “Pakistan should focus on saving its economy dependent on life support, its politics suppressed by military power, and its human rights record tainted by oppression. Perhaps when they have a break from exporting terrorism, harboring UN-designated terrorists, and bombing its own people.”
According to local reports, at least 30 people were killed in an overnight Pakistani airstrike on a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa village on Monday. He reaffirmed India’s stance that the Council should remain universal, objective, and non-selective in its approach. He said, “Our collective efforts should promote unity and constructive engagement, not division.”
Advisor Kshitij Tyagi said, “We are concerned by the continued proliferation of country-specific mandates. Instead of advancing the Council’s core mandate, these reinforce perceptions of bias and selectivity. Focusing narrowly on the human rights situation in a few countries distracts us from the immediate and common challenges facing the world.”
Tyagi said, “We firmly believe that lasting progress can only be achieved through dialogue, cooperation, and capacity building. At a time when the world is grappling with multiple crises, the Council’s work should be geared towards building consensus through a non-political and forward-looking approach.”
