Pakistan rebukes India at UN Security Council

Pakistan responded to India’s accusations at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday, with Pakistani diplomat Saima Saleem criticizing New Delhi as “a state that exports terrorism abroad, forcibly occupies people, persecutes minorities at home, uses water as a weapon and commits aggression in the region.”

His comments came during a right of reply at the UN Security Council’s Annual Debate on the Protection of Civilians after India accused Pakistan of ignoring international humanitarian obligations and targeting civilians.

Pakistan had expressed concern over the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) during the session. Saima criticized India’s comments and said New Delhi had appeared before the council “with the mask of a victim”. “But the world can see the face behind that mask,” he said.

Early in the debate, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Harish Parvathaneni, accused Pakistan of failing to meet its international humanitarian obligations and alleged that it had attacked civilians. He also referred to what he described as Pakistan’s “long and tainted history of genocidal acts,” according to Indian media reports.

The Indian envoy also repeated allegations made by the Afghan Taliban over an alleged attack on a hospital in Kabul earlier this year.

Responding to the allegations, Saima said “state sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan” had caused significant civilian casualties through militant groups operating from Afghan territory.

“Their terrorist allies, including the TTP, the BLA and the Majeed Brigade, have killed thousands of civilians, including women and children, in our mosques, markets, schools and streets,” he added.

Saima further said that Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operations were carried out on the basis of credible intelligence and targeted militant hideouts, training camps and logistical networks involved in attacks on Pakistani civilians, security personnel and infrastructure.

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“These operations were directed solely against terrorists and their infrastructure, not against the brotherly people of Afghanistan or civilian facilities,” he said.

Saima also dismissed accusations raised by the Taliban administration and repeated by India, calling them part of a “disinformation campaign” aimed at covering up attacks on Pakistani civilians.

Regarding IIOJK, the Pakistani diplomat said India could not “hide or deny its occupation of Jammu and Kashmir”, describing the issue as “an internationally recognized dispute that remains on the agenda of this Council”.

“In occupied territory, civilians are killed, detained, dispossessed and silenced; homes are demolished, freedoms are crushed and an entire people are denied their right to self-determination,” he added.

He also criticized India’s treatment of minorities, particularly Muslims, and said the situation should “alarm the conscience of the world.”

“Under state-sponsored Hindutva extremism, Islamophobia has been normalized as policy, hate speech has been rewarded in politics and mob violence has gone unpunished,” he said, adding that Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits and Christians faced discrimination.

Referring to the Indus Waters Treaty, Saima said India’s decision to keep the agreement “on hold” reflected a disregard for international law. “A state that threatens the water, food security and livelihoods of millions of Pakistanis certainly cannot talk about civil protection,” he said.

Concluding his remarks, he said Pakistan remained committed to “peace, dialogue, peaceful resolution of disputes and compliance with international law,” while accusing India of “terrorism, occupation, aggression, repression and disregard for international law.”