India intensified its criticism of Pakistan at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday, with its representative Kshitij Tyagi launching a sharp and uncompromising response. Tyagi accused Islamabad of “bombing their own people” while attempting to use the global forum to target New Delhi with unfounded allegations.
Addressing Agenda Item 4 during the UNHRC session, Tyagi, a 2012-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, dismissed Pakistan’s statements as “baseless and provocative,” urging the Council to maintain impartiality.
“The Council must remain universal, objective, and non-selective in its approach,” he said. “Our collective efforts should build unity and constructive engagement, not division. We are concerned by the continued proliferation of country-specific mandates, which, far from advancing the Council’s mission, only reinforce perceptions of bias and selectivity.”
Tyagi emphasized that concentrating narrowly on certain nations detracts from addressing global crises, adding, “Lasting progress can only be achieved through dialogue, cooperation, and capacity building, always with the consent of the State concerned. At a time when the world is grappling with multiple crises, the Council’s work should be channelled toward forging consensus through a non-politicized and forward-looking approach.”
Turning his focus to Pakistan, Tyagi’s remarks were sharp and pointed. “A delegation that epitomizes the antithesis of this approach continues to misuse this forum with baseless statements against India. Instead of coveting our territory, they would do well to vacate Indian lands under their illegal occupation and address an economy on life support, a polity muzzled by military dominance, and a human rights record marred by persecution, perhaps once they find time away from exporting terrorism, harboring UN-designated terrorists, and bombing their own people.”
VIDEO | New York: At UN, India slams Pakistan over air attack on civilians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Speaking during Agenda Item 4 of the UNHRC session, Indian diplomat Kshitij Tyagi said, “Instead of coveting our territory, they would do well to vacate the Indian territory under… pic.twitter.com/kO1PpSblLT
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 24, 2025
The remarks came just a day after reports of a Pakistani Air Force strike in Matre Dara village in the Tirah Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which reportedly killed at least 30 civilians, including women and children. Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes, including burned vehicles, collapsed buildings, and bodies pulled from the rubble.
India also reiterated to the Council that its mandate should remain “universal, objective, and non-selective,” cautioning against country-specific mandates that risk fostering perceptions of partiality.
In response to the airstrike, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed “shock” over the civilian casualties and called for accountability, highlighting the growing international concern over the impact of military actions on innocent populations.
