India rejects Pakistan’s claims on Kashmir, calls Indus Waters Treaty outdated at UNHRC (First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Anupama Singh (Photo: UN))
NEW DELHI: India launched a sharp attack on Pakistan at the 62nd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), describing it as a “Frankenstein state” that nurtured terrorism as state policy and was now facing the consequences of its own actions.Exercising India’s right of reply during the interactive dialogue on the UN high commissioner’s annual report, first secretary at India’s permanent mission to the United Nations, Anupama Singh, rejected Pakistan’s allegations against India and criticised Islamabad’s repeated attempts to raise the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at international forums. “This is the country where the sitting defence minister boasts of hosting, training and deploying terrorists as a state policy, and yet Pakistan calls itself a victim of terrorism, indeed a paradox which only Pakistan could sustain. It is a living example of a Frankenstein state, which is shocked when its own monster bites back,” Singh said.India also rejected references to Jammu and Kashmir made by Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), accusing Islamabad of using international platforms to divert attention from its domestic challenges and record on terrorism.”India is compelled to exercise its right of reply in response to references made to it by Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. We categorically reject the baseless and malicious allegations made by Pakistan. We also categorically reject the references to J&K made by the OIC. Pakistan’s propaganda is designed to mask its domestic failures and support for terrorism. Its misuse of the OIC Coordinator’s role only reinforces this deception,” Singh said.Reiterating New Delhi’s position on Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said the Union Territory remained an integral part of India.”Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. The only unresolved issue is Pakistan’s illegal occupation of Indian territories and their return,” she said.The Indian diplomat also raised concerns over the situation in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), alleging repression and human rights violations in the region.Referring to recent unrest in Rawalakot, Singh said, “The ongoing tragedy in Rawalakot, the killing of hundreds of civilians and the brutal crackdown across Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir are the predictable outcome of a system built on forcible occupation and sustained through repression.”Her remarks came amid reports of a June 14 security operation in Rawalakot. According to the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC), security forces dispersed protesters staging a sit-in at the Eidgah site, leaving at least two people dead and several injured. The group also alleged communication disruptions and restrictions on the movement of essential supplies following the operation.India maintained that Pakistan’s repeated references to Jammu and Kashmir could not alter the reality of the region’s status and accused Islamabad of attempting to deflect international attention from developments in territories under its control.
