Geneva- Pakistan has the “unique distinction” of hosting the most number of UNSC-designated terrorists and terror organisations, and its policies are directly responsible for thousands of civilian deaths in the world, India has said as it slammed Islamabad for its “malicious propaganda” against it.
Exercising its right of reply to Pakistan’s statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Friday, India said when it is not entirely focused on suppressing its own population, Pakistan actively lends its energies to aid, host and abet international terrorists.
“It has the unique distinction of hosting the most number of UNSC designated terrorists and terror organisations. Osama bin Laden lived next to Pakistan’s premier military academy. Its security agencies have nurtured and sheltered Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar for decades,” First Secretary of India’s Permanent Mission to UN Seema Pujani said.
“These are but a few dreaded names from the annals of Pakistan’s history of supporting terrorism. Pakistan’s policies are directly responsible for the death of thousands of civilians around the world,” she said in response to a statement delivered by Pakistan.
Pujani said Pakistan’s obsession with India while its population battle for their lives, livelihood and freedom is an indication of the state’s misplaced priorities.
She said its leaders and officials should focus their energies on working for the benefit of their own population instead of “baseless propaganda” against India.
“Pakistan’s representative has once again chosen to misuse this august forum for its malicious propaganda against India,” she said.
Pujani raised the issue of enforced disappearances, saying students, doctors, engineers, teachers, and community leaders are regularly disappeared by the State never to return.
“Pakistan is a State which responds to any calls for reforms with enforced disappearances. In the last decade, Pakistan’s own Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances has received 8,463 complaints. The Baloch people have borne the brunt of this cruel policy,” she said.
In her statement, Pujani also expressed regret over a statement made by Turkiye at the UN session.
“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,” she said.
Pujani also spoke about the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan and asserted that no religious minority can freely live or practice its religion in the Muslim-majority country.
“The Ahmadiya community continues to be persecuted by the state for simply practicing their faith. To even obtain a Pakistani passport, the community has to denounce its founder. Equally worse is the treatment of the Christian community. It is frequently targeted through draconian blasphemy laws.
“State institutions officially reserve sanitation’ jobs for Christians. Underage girls from the community are converted to Islam abetted by a predatory state and an apathetic judiciary. Hindu and Sikh communities face similar issues of frequent attacks on their places of worship and forced conversion of their underage girls,” she said.
The Indian diplomat said the state’s crackdown on those who wish to raise their voice against any of these heinous policies is also incomparable.
“A bill which proposes a five-year jail term for anyone who scandalises or ridicules’ the military or the judiciary is currently on the table in Pakistan’s Parliament,” she said.
Rejects OIC’s ‘Unwarranted’ References On J&K
Meanwhile a report from Geneva said, India assailed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for its “unwarranted references” to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and for allowing Pakistan to hijack and misuse its platform for carrying out Islamabad’s “nefarious agenda” against New Delhi.
Exercising its right of reply at the High-Level Segment of 52nd session of the Human Rights Council, Seema Pujani, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, outrightly rejected the reference to the statement made by the OIC representative.
“As regards the OIC statement, we reject the unwarranted references to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” Pujani said in a statement on Friday.
“The fact is that the entire territories of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and shall always be part of India. Pakistan is in illegal occupation of Indian territory,” she said.
Instead of calling upon its member Pakistan to give up state-sponsored terrorism and to lift its occupation of Indian territory, the OIC has “let Pakistan hijack and misuse its platform for carrying out its nefarious agenda of engaging in malicious propaganda against India,” Pujani said.
India has previously criticised the Jeddah-based OIC for its attempt to interfere and meddle in India’s internal affairs as completely unacceptable.
A spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs has said that the OIC has already lost its credibility by taking a blatantly communal, partisan and factually incorrect approach to issues.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
