Vacate PoK, Rescue Economy At Life Support: India Slams Pakistan At UN Summit

Counsellor Kshitij Tyagi of the Permanent Mission of India spoke out against Pakistan at the general debate named 'Human Rights Situations That Require The Council’s Attention', held at the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The counsellor asked Pakistan to vacate from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and cede the territory to India, stating that it is illegally occupied. He further asked the country to instead focus on improving their economy which he described as "being on life support".

"Instead of coveting our territory, they (Pakistan) would do well to vacate the Indian territory under their illegal occupation and focus on rescuing an economy on life support, a polity muzzled by military dominance, and a human rights record stained by persecution," Tyagi said.

Tyagi called out the Pakistani delegation and said that they "abused the forum" with baseless and provocative statements against India.

Tyagi called the Pakistani people, "a polity muzzled by military dominance", and said that the country has a human rights record stained by persecution.

"Perhaps once they find time away from exporting terrorism, harbouring UN-proscribed terrorists, and bombing their own people,” Tyagi said.

The Counsellor said that council should continue to be universal, objective, and non-selective in its approach.  

"Our collective efforts should foster unity and constructive engagement, not division," he said.

Tyagi further stated that India was concerned by what he described as "the continued proliferation of country-specific mandates."

"Far from advancing the Council’s core mandate, they reinforce perceptions of bias and selectivity. Focusing narrowly on the human rights situation in a few countries distracts us from the urgent and shared challenges the world faces," Tyagi said.

Tyagi further said that India firmly believes that lasting progress can only be achieved through dialogue, cooperation, and capacity-building, which would always be with the consent of the State concerned.

"At a time when the world is struggling with multiple crises, the council’s work should be channelised into forging consensus through a non-politicized and forward-looking approach," he said.