‘Country soaked in red has no right to comment on us’, India’s reply to Pakistan at UN

India gave a befitting reply to Pakistan and exercised its ‘Right of Reply’ in response to references to New Delhi stating that the nation that has institutionalized the systemic persecution of its minorities and has a truly abysmal human rights record has no right to comment on India.

Speaking at the high-level segment of the 55th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council, First Secretary Anupama Singh on Wednesday said it is regrettable that the Council's forum has once again been abused to propagate flagrantly false accusations about India. 

“We regret the comment made by Türkiye on a matter that is an internal affair of India, and hope that it would refrain from making unsolicited comments on our internal matters in future,” Singh said as quoted by ANI. 

“We regret the comment made by Türkiye on a matter that is an internal affair of India, and hope that it would refrain from making unsolicited comments on our internal matters in future,” she stated.

"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.

She termed Pakistan's human rights as ‘truly abysmal’, saying that 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, ANI reported. 

“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 further said. 

Last August, India said that an environment free of terror and hostilities was imperative for normal ties with Pakistan. The External Affairs Ministry stated that India wants normal ties with all its neighbouring countries including Pakistan.

"We desire normal neighbourly relations with all our neighbours, including Pakistan. For this an environment free of terror and hostility is imperative," a MEA spokesperson had said.

Pakistan is grappling with economic difficulties including dwindling forex reserves, high inflation and sharp depreciation of its currency. 

(With ANI inputs)