India Gives Pakistan a Strong Response at the UN

India strongly rejected Pakistan’s remarks after its representative raised the Jammu and Kashmir issue at a United Nations meeting. Bhavika Mangalanandan, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, said Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter of India and questioned Pakistan’s moral authority to comment on it. She urged Pakistan to focus instead on protecting the rights of minorities in areas under its control, alleging that minorities there continue to face rights violations.

Speaking during a discussion on “The Rights to Burial and Religious Beliefs in Exceptional Circumstances,” Mangalanandan criticised Pakistan’s position on religious freedom and burial rights. Referring to the 1999 Kargil conflict, she said Pakistan had failed to accept the bodies of some of its own soldiers, while the Indian Army had reportedly performed their last rites with military honours in accordance with Islamic traditions. She also questioned Pakistan’s emphasis on the rights of terrorists while, in her view, overlooking the rights of victims of terrorism.