UNGA 86th Plenary Meeting

India’s Right of Reply

23 June 2022

I am constrained to take the floor to exercise India’s right of reply to respond to Pakistan's blatant abuse of this august forum. Pakistan has made it a habit of abusing the sanctity of every UN forum by spreading falsehoods. For a nation that is encouraging sectarian violence against minorities, sponsoring cross border terrorism, harboring a deep sense of insecurity and orchestrated hatred for India and our secular credentials, we expect nothing new from this delegation.

Pakistan has made a number of futile and unsubstantiated allegations against India, including in relation to Jammu and Kashmir. These do not merit a response, as they pertain to matters internal to India. However, let me make it clear that the entire union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Laddakh including the territories under illegal occupation of Pakistan, are and will always remain an integral part of India.

As an epicenter of terrorism, Pakistan is the biggest destabilizing force in the world. They have spurned the calls for global ceasefire by sponsoring cross border terrorism. They have broken each and every principle the UN stands for. 

Even as terrorists thrive in Pakistan and roam its streets with impunity, we have heard it lecture about the protection of human rights in India. The world does not need lessons on democracy and human rights from a country whose contribution to the globalisation of terror is unparalleled. 

Today we are discussing the responsibility to protect in cases of serious violations of international law. The irony is totally lost on the Representative of Pakistan given their shameful history of committing genocide in what was then East Pakistan and what is now Bangladesh over 50 years back, for which they have not once even offered a modicum of an apology. Innocent women, children, academics and intellectuals were treated as weapons of war in an act of calculated genocide carried out by the Pakistan Army in what it called Operation Searchlight. The reign of terror unleashed by Pakistan on the population of the then East Pakistan saw hundreds of thousands were killed brutally. Several thousands of women were raped. 

And today, we were all witness to the absurdity of a serial violator of minority rights commenting on the treatment of minorities in another nation. The world has been witness to the systemic persecution of minorities including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Ahmadiyyas by Pakistan. The Government of India accords the highest respect to all religions. This is quite unlike Pakistan where fanatics are eulogized and monuments built in their honour. We call on Pakistan to focus on the safety, security and well-being of its minority communities instead of engaging in alarmist propaganda and attempting to foment communal disharmony in India.

It is time to hold Pakistan to account and not let them misuse UN platforms for spreading disinformation, hate and incite violence.

I know that the representative of Pakistan, as is their habit, would probably take the floor once again to continue their tirade of falsehoods. But we will not be dignifying their comments with a response any further.