India delivered a firm response to Pakistan at the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), with Indian diplomat Anupama Singh strongly rejecting allegations raised by Islamabad and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The session is being held from Feb. 23 to March 31, with India exercising its Right of Reply during the high-level segment on Feb. 25. According to reports, addressing the Council, Singh said India “categorically rejects these allegations,” and accused Pakistan of running “incessant propaganda,” which she said now “reeks of envy.”
She also criticised the OIC, stating that it had allowed itself to function as an “echo chamber” for one member state. Comparing development in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan's economic situation, Singh pointed out that the Union Territory's development budget is “more than double the recent bailout package” sought by Pakistan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Jammu and Kashmir has a development budget of Rs 1.13 lakh crore for the 2026-27 financial year, while Pakistan recently sought an IMF bailout of 1.2 billion US dollars.
Reiterating India's long-standing position, Singh said Jammu and Kashmir “was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.” She described the region's accession to India in 1947 as “completely legal and irrevocable” under the Indian Independence Act and international law.
She added that the only unresolved issue was Pakistan's “illegal occupation of Indian territories” and called on Islamabad to vacate those areas.
Referring to infrastructure development, Singh highlighted the inauguration of the Chenab Rail Bridge, which she described as the world's highest railway bridge. Responding to Pakistan's claims, she remarked, “If the Chenab Rail Bridge… is fake, then Pakistan must be hallucinating or living in the ‘La-la-land'.”
Singh also dismissed Pakistan's criticism of India's democratic processes, saying it was “hard to take lectures on democracy from a country where civilian governments rarely complete their terms.”
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She accused Pakistan of “relentless state-sponsored terrorism” and said that despite this, Jammu and Kashmir continues to make progress politically, economically, and socially, adding that “the world can certainly see through its charade.”
Who is Anupama Singh?
Reports suggest that Singh is an officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) with over nine years of experience. Before joining the IFS, she worked at KPMG for two years and three months, first as a Consultant and later as a Senior Consultant between 2012 and 2014.
She completed her training in Administration at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in 2014. She also pursued the CFA programme from 2008 to 2011, with a focus on corporate finance, valuation, and portfolio management, reported India TV.
Singh holds an MBA in Finance from the Faculty of Management Studies and a BTech degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology.
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