United Nations, June 26 India has strongly rejected what it described as Pakistan's "nefarious agenda" at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), accusing Islamabad of attempting to deflect attention from its own human rights violations and state-sponsored cross-border terrorism.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, issued a sharp rebuttal during the UNSC's open debate on Children and Armed Conflict (CAC), calling out Pakistan for misusing the platform and violating the Council's agenda.
"Pakistan is casting unwarranted aspersions over UN processes and also smearing India at various discussions to pursue its nefarious agenda. We reject this attempt by Pakistan to deflect attention from the atrocities committed against children in their country, as highlighted in the Secretary-General's report, as well as their rampant cross-border terrorism," said Harish.
The Indian envoy labelled Pakistan as "one of the grave violators of the CAC agenda," citing not only the systemic abuse of children within Pakistan's borders but also the impact of its military operations in Afghanistan's border areas, where children have suffered casualties due to cross-border shelling and air strikes by Pakistani forces.
He referred to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 Indian tourists were killed by Pakistani or Pakistan-trained terrorists.
"The world has not forgotten the savage targeted attacks by Pakistani and Pakistani-trained terrorists," the Ambassador said, noting the Security Council's April 25 press statement that had underscored the "need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers, and sponsors of this reprehensible act accountable and bring them to justice."
Reaffirming India's zero-tolerance stance against terrorism, Ambassador Harish pointed to the May 7 retaliatory strikes under Operation Sindoor.
"India undertook non-escalatory, proportionate, and focused attacks that targeted nine terrorist infrastructure sites," he said, adding that those killed in the strikes were given state funerals in Pakistan, highlighting the state's continued patronage of terrorism.
He also referenced the Secretary-General's recent CAC report, which detailed grave violations against children in Pakistan, including attacks on girls' schools and health workers.
"The Secretary-General has expressed concern at the rise in such grave violations reported, including attacks against schools, particularly girls' schools, against health workers, and about the incidents in the border areas with Afghanistan, where a series of killing and maiming of Afghan children was directly attributed to cross-border shelling and air strikes by Pakistani armed forces," Harish noted.
He further condemned the Pakistani army's shelling of Indian border villages in May 2025, which resulted in civilian deaths and injuries.
"To preach at this body after such behaviour is grossly hypocritical," he said.
Concluding his remarks, the Indian envoy reiterated India's firm stance on Jammu and Kashmir, stating, "The entire union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India, irrespective of the frequent, incessant spate of lies and falsehoods by Pakistan."
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