India rejects UN expert's claim linking Pahalgam attack to Myanmar refugees

Referring to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, Andrews' report said Myanmar refugees in India have faced severe pressure since the incident, despite none of them being linked to the attack

India has strongly rejected baseless observations made by a UN expert on Myanmar that refugees from the Southeast Asian nation were under severe pressure following the Pahalgam terror attack, with Delhi denouncing this prejudiced and blinkered analysis.

I express serious objection to the baseless and biased observations in the report regarding my country. I strongly denounce the biased approach adopted by the Special Rapporteur of the innocent civilian victims of the April 2025 terrorist attack in Pahalgam through a biased communal lens, Member of Parliament Dilip Saikia said on Tuesday.

Saikia delivered India's statement on the situation of human rights in Myanmar at the interactive dialogue in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.

India strongly rejected the observations made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, in his report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

Referring to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the report by Andrews said that following the April 2025 terrorist attack on Hindu tourists in Jammu and Kashmir, refugees from Myanmar have been under severe pressure in India even though no individuals from Myanmar were involved in the attack.

Refugees in India told the Special Rapporteur that they have been summoned, detained, interrogated, and threatened with deportation by Indian authorities in recent months, the report by the Special Rapporteur said.

Slamming this assertion, Saikia said the allegation that the Pahalagm terrorist attack impacted displaced persons from Myanmar has absolutely no factual bearing.

My country rejects such prejudiced and blinkered analysis' by the Special Rapporteur, he said.

Saikia stressed that India is seeing an alarming level of radicalisation among the displaced persons, leading to consequential pressure and impact on the law-and-order situation.

I would also urge the SR (Special Rapporteur) not to depend upon unverified and skewed media reports whose sole purpose appears to be maligning my country where people of all faiths live, including more than 200 million Muslims, which is about 10 per cent of the world's Muslim population, Saikia said.

Saikia stressed that as a close neighbour, India continues to support all initiatives aimed at fostering trust and advancing a Myanmar-owned and Myanmar-led path toward peace, stability, and democracy.

We reiterate our consistent position calling for an immediate cessation of violence, release of political prisoners, unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance, and inclusive political dialogue.

We firmly believe that sustainable peace can only be secured through inclusive political dialogue and the early restoration of democratic processes through credible and participatory elections, he said.

He noted that the deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions continue to remain a matter of deep concern for India, particularly as these developments have cross-border implications for the country, including the challenges posed by transnational crimes such as drug, arms, and human trafficking.

Saikia pointed out that India has consistently emphasised a people-centric approach in its engagement with Myanmar.

Following the March 2025 earthquake, he said India promptly launched Operation Brahma', dispatching over 1,000 metric tonnes of relief materials and deploying medical teams as the first responder.

He added that this built upon Delhi's earlier humanitarian initiatives, including Operation Sadbhav during Typhoon Yagi in 2024 and India's continued assistance during previous natural calamities.

The Special Rapporteur's report also noted that in early May 2025, approximately 40 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, were detained in Delhi, flown on an Indian military aircraft to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and transferred to an Indian navy vessel.

It added that Indian authorities also deported scores of Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh in May.

The Special Rapporteur has written to the Indian government concerning these deportations and met with government officials who pledged to report back after investigating these events. The Special Rapporteur continues to wait for this report, it said.