Geneva : India strongly criticised Pakistan at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), asserting that a country that continues to sponsor terrorism cannot expect to enjoy the benefits of cooperation based on goodwill and friendship. India also described the Indus Waters Treaty as outdated and no longer suited to present-day realities.
Speaking during India’s Right of Reply at the 62nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Anupama Singh, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, rejected Pakistan’s allegations against India and accused Islamabad of repeatedly attempting to internationalise bilateral issues on global platforms.
“Our position on the Indus Waters Treaty is well known. It defies logic that a state which exports terror as an instrument of policy continues to demand the privileges of cooperation predicated on goodwill and friendship,” Singh said. She added that the treaty, signed in 1960, cannot be regarded as a perpetual entitlement immune to changing circumstances and accountability.
India suspended the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people. New Delhi has maintained that the treaty will remain in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism.
According to the Indian government, Pakistan relies heavily on the Indus river system, with nearly 80 per cent of its 16 million hectares of agricultural land and 93 per cent of its total water consumption dependent on the river network.
Targeting Pakistan’s repeated criticism of India, Singh said Islamabad would be better served by addressing its own internal challenges rather than making claims over Indian territories. She remarked that Pakistan’s recurring attempts to raise such issues at the Human Rights Council had lost their credibility.
India also delivered a sharp rebuke on the issue of terrorism. Singh said it was paradoxical for Pakistan to portray itself as a victim of terrorism while senior leaders in the country had openly acknowledged hosting, training and deploying terrorists as part of state policy. She described Pakistan as a “Frankenstein state” facing the consequences of nurturing extremist elements.
Rejecting references made by Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) regarding Jammu and Kashmir, India said the allegations were baseless and malicious. The Indian diplomat stated that Pakistan’s propaganda was aimed at concealing its domestic failures and continued support for terrorism.
Reaffirming New Delhi’s position, Singh declared that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.” She added that the only unresolved issue concerning the region was Pakistan’s illegal occupation of Indian territory.
India’s intervention at the UNHRC once again underscored its firm stance against terrorism, cross-border hostility and Pakistan’s attempts to raise bilateral issues at international forums.