India strongly criticised Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council, accusing Islamabad of having a “long-tainted” history of genocidal acts and using violence to deflect attention from its internal failures.
Speaking during the Annual UNSC Open Debate on the ‘Protection of civilians in armed conflict’ on Wednesday, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Harish Parvathaneni, said it was “ironic” that Pakistan had raised issues relating to Jammu and Kashmir during discussions focused on civilian protection.
“It is ironic that Pakistan, with its long-tainted record of genocidal acts, has chosen to refer to issues that are strictly internal to India,” Parvathaneni said.
India also referred to Pakistan’s alleged airstrike in Afghanistan earlier this year, accusing Islamabad of targeting civilians during the holy month of Ramadan.
Parvathaneni said Pakistan carried out a “barbaric airstrike” on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul in March, citing figures from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
According to the Indian envoy, the attack killed 269 civilians and injured 122 others.
“The world has not forgotten that it was during the holy month of Ramadan… that Pakistan conducted a barbaric airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul,” he said.
Parvathaneni added that the strike took place after evening tarawih prayers when many patients were leaving the mosque premises, terming the attack “cowardly and unconscionable”.
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India also cited UNAMA estimates that more than 94,000 people were displaced due to cross-border violence affecting Afghan civilians.
The Indian envoy further accused Pakistan of carrying out systematic atrocities during Operation Searchlight in 1971 in what was then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.
Parvathaneni alleged that Pakistan’s army conducted a “systematic campaign of genocidal mass rape” during the operation.
“Such heinous acts of aggression by Pakistan should not come as a surprise from a country that bombs its own people and conducts systematic genocide,” he said.
He accused Pakistan of repeatedly attempting to “externalise internal failures” through violence both within and outside its borders.
“With no faith, no law, and no morality, the world can see through Pakistan’s propaganda,” Parvathaneni added.
The remarks came amid renewed diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan at multilateral forums, with both sides frequently raising issues relating to Kashmir and regional security at the United Nations.
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