NEW YORK: India delivered a sharp rebuttal to Pakistan at the United Nations, exposing how Islamabad undermines judicial independence, suppresses political opposition and restricts press freedom while falsely preaching the rule of law on the international stage. Exercising its Right of Reply during discussions in the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee, Indian diplomat R. Mythili challenged Pakistan’s false allegations against India over minority rights. The Indian diplomat also questioned Islamabad’s democratic credentials and explained how Operation Sindoor was a “measured, proportionate and focused response” to the Pahalgam terror attack.
India slams Pakistan Army’s iron fist & suppression of dissent
India exercised its Right of Reply on Friday after Pakistan made remarks during a discussion in the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee on “Rule of Law at National and International Levels”. Counsellor at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, R. Mythili, questioned Islamabad’s credibility on the issue, arguing that its own domestic record contradicted its claims of defending legal accountability.
“It is ironic to hear lectures on rule of law from a nation whose own record makes a mockery of it”, Mythili said, pointing to the Pakistani Army’s influence & iron fist over the country’s political and judicial institutions. She added that Pakistan’s representatives invoked the rule of law at the UN while the military effectively determined its application at home.
“A state that places its military rulers beyond the reach of its own courts is in no position to lecture on the rule of law in this committee”, she said.
India slams 26th constitutional amendement in Pakistan as a “real blow” to judicial independence
Mythili also criticised Pakistan’s 26th Constitutional Amendment, describing it as a “real blow” to judicial independence. The amendment introduced significant changes to the country’s judicial system, including provisions affecting judicial appointments and the functioning of the superior courts.
The Indian diplomat further targeted Islamabad over the imprisonment of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and reitertaed that the country’s political and judicial institutions had failed to uphold fundamental principles of accountability and justice.
She argued that a political system in which no elected government had completed its full term, and a former Prime Minister was arbitrarily imprisoned and denied medical treatment despite a direction from Pakistan’s Supreme Court, amounted to a “mockery of the rule of law”.
Mythili also accused Pakistan of preventing a popular political party from contesting elections, trying civilians in military courts, silencing Supreme Court judges and suppressing human rights. Questioning the disconnect between the Pakistani leadership’s international rhetoric and the concerns of its own population, she delivered a pointed message to Islamabad. “I say only one thing to my Pakistani colleague: Listen to your people”, she said.
India rejects Pakistan’s minority rights allegations; Questions press freedom
Further in the statement, Indian diplomat Mythili rejected Pakistan’s allegations regarding India’s treatment of religious minorities, calling them a “tactical diversion” intended to deflect attention from Islamabad’s domestic record.
She pointed to what she described as a persistent decline in the proportion of religious minorities in Pakistan’s population since the country’s creation, challenging its representatives to address the treatment of minorities within their own borders. Mythili also raised concerns about the Press Freedom in Pakistan, referring to the Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines issued by its Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Under the guidelines, foreign media organisations are required to obtain a ‘No Objection Certificate’ for reporting assignments outside Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. The Indian diplomat questioned what such restrictions meant for the freedom of the press. “And in such a country, what can possibly be the state of the fourth pillar of democracy?” she asked.
Rejecting Islamabad’s repeated focus on India, Mythili asserted that the fixation was not on New Delhi’s side. “It is not India that has an obsession with Pakistan but the other way round”, she said.
Operation Sindoor is a measured & proportionate response to Pahalgam terror attack
The Indian diplomat also hailed Operation Sindoor against terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir(PoJK) following the Pahalgam terror attack, as a response to a “gruesome terror attack”, she called it a “measured, proportionate, and focused response”.
Taking a swipe at Pakistan’s claims regarding the outcome of the military confrontation, she said, “As far as the result of the same is concerned, if bombed airfields and destroyed hangars are victory, they are welcome to enjoy it”. Mythili further accused Pakistani representatives of repeatedly making false allegations against India instead of addressing their obligations to their own people.
“Reading and re-reading the same laundry list of false allegations against my country will not absolve Pakistani representatives of the promises that they have made to their people and which they have no intention to keep”, the Indian diplomat stated firmly against the fake narrative network of Pakistan.
