“Perhaps Once They Find Time Away from Bombing Their Own People”: India Slams Pakistan at UNHRC

Geneva: India on Tuesday delivered a sharp rebuke to Pakistan at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), with its representative Kshitij Tyagi condemning Islamabad for misusing the forum and harming its own citizens.

Speaking during Agenda Item 4 of the session, the 2012-batch Indian Foreign Service officer dismissed Pakistan’s interventions as “baseless and provocative statements against India.”

Tyagi said, “A delegation that epitomises the antithesis of this approach continues to abuse this forum with baseless and provocative statements against India. Instead of coveting our territory, they 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 — perhaps once they find time away from exporting terrorism, harbouring UN-proscribed terrorists, and bombing their own people.”

His remarks came a day after reports emerged of a Pakistani Air Force strike in Matre Dara village, Tirah Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which killed at least 30 civilians, including women and children. Eyewitnesses described devastating scenes with burned vehicles, collapsed buildings, and bodies pulled from rubble.

India also emphasized that the Council’s mandate should remain “universal, objective, and non-selective”, warning against country-specific mandates that, according to New Delhi, fuel perceptions of bias and selectivity.