India slams Pakistan at the United Nations, calls out the irony of nation with a genocidal record mouthing platitudes about Kashmir

Harish Parvathaneni criticises Pakistan at UN Security Council debate
Harish Parvathaneni (Image via ANI)

On Wednesday, 20th May, India slammed Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), calling it a long-tainted history of genocidal violence and trying to hide its internal failures through aggression both within and outside its borders.

The sharp remarks were made during the annual UNSC open debate on the ‘Protection of civilians in armed conflict’ after Pakistan’s representative raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir during the discussion.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, rejected Pakistan’s comments and said it was ironic for Islamabad to speak on such matters.

“It is ironic that Pakistan, with its long-tainted record of genocidal acts, has chosen to refer to issues that are strictly internal to India,” Parvathaneni said during the debate.

India also referred to Pakistan’s military actions in Afghanistan earlier this year. Referring to the reported strikes in Kabul during Ramadan, Parvathaneni said, “The world has not forgotten that it was during the holy month of Ramadan in March this year, at a time of peace, reflection, and mercy, that Pakistan conducted a barbaric airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul.”

Quoting findings from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), he said the strike killed 269 civilians and injured another 122 people.

“This cowardly and unconscionable act of violence claimed the lives of 269 civilians and injured a further 122 in a facility which can by no means be justified as a military target,” he said.

Parvathaneni further accused Pakistan of hypocrisy for speaking about international law while allegedly targeting civilians. “It is hypocritical of Pakistan to speak of high principles of international law while targeting innocent civilians in the dark,” he added.

India’s envoy also cited UNAMA’s assessment that more than 94,000 people had been displaced due to cross-border violence affecting Afghan civilians.

He further said such actions were not surprising from a country that “bombs its own people and conducts systematic genocide.”

Parvathaneni also referred to the 1971 events during Operation Searchlight and alleged that Pakistan had carried out a “systematic campaign of genocidal mass rape of 400,000 women” through its army during that period.

India’s intervention at the UNSC mainly focused on rejecting Pakistan’s attempt to raise Jammu and Kashmir at the global forum, which New Delhi described as an internal matter.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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