India slams Pak for raising Kashmir at UNHRC, asks it to 'introspect'

India on Monday ripped into Pakistan for raising the Kashmir issue at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and expressed "serious concern" over Pakistan's audacity to accuse others of "effecting a state-sponsored genocide."

Exercising its Right of Reply after Pakistan raised Kashmir at the 43rd session of UNHRC, Senthil Kumar, the First Secretary of India's Permanent Mission called out Islamabad for misusing the rights forum and its mechanism and asked the neighbouring country to introspect on its grave human rights situations before extending unsolicited advice to anybody.

Drawing the attention of the Council to crimes against humanity in Pakistan, New Delhi stated that enforced disappearances, state violence, forced mass displacement, extrajudicial killings, army operations, torture camps, detention centres, and military camps are a regular feature in Balochistan.

Maintaining that India's decision to revoke Article 370 of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in August year does not have any external ramifications, Kumar said that the people have marched ahead despite Pakistan's "nefarious attempt" to derail peace and prosperity.

"It's unfortunate that Pakistan continues to maintain its track record of misuse of the Human Rights Council and its mechanism. It's a matter of serious concern that Pakistan being the only country in South Asia of effecting a state-sponsored genocide would have the audacity to accuse others of it," Kumar said.

"It's questionable that a country of serious credibility issues would talk about human rights and self-determination. This country emerged out of religious fundamentalism and bloodshed and its history rigged with assassinations, coups and puppets running," he added.

Kumar elaborated on the human rights abuses and persecution faced by the minority communities in Pakistan. He talked about the misuse of Blasphemy in Pakistan to terrorize minorities and cited examples of systemic targeting of minorities through blasphemy laws.

"Systemic misuse of Blasphemy in Pakistan has terrorized the minorities in Pakistan. The recent fate of two Hindu girls in Sindh, one Christian girl in Lahore, one Ahmadi lady in Chaleki, two professors from Khairpur are the examples of systemic targeting of minorities through blasphemy laws. The state of Pakistan is well manifested in the impunity in the murder of 65 transgenders in Pakistan since 2015," Kumar explained.

"Enforced disappearances, state violence and forced mass displacements, harassment, extrajudicial killings, army operations, torture, kill-and-dumps, torture camps, detention centres, military camps are regular features in Balochistan.

India also pointed out that there was no information on the fate of 47,000 Baloch persons and 35,000 Pashtuns who have been missing till date. It added that sectarian violence has claimed over 500 Hazaras in Baluchistan and more than 100,000 Hazaras have fled Pakistan," he added.