India slams Pakistan for raising Kashmir at UN Human Rights Council

New Delhi, June 16: India has launched a scathing attack at Pakistan at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), calling the country the "epicentre of terrorism" and asked Islamabad to exercise "good neighbourliness" and stop systematic persecution of its religious minorities.

In India's Right to Reply at the 43rd Session of UN Human Rights Council here, First Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs, Vimarsh Aryan, said the pathetic situation of minorities in Pakistan is well known where the systematic misuse of blasphemy laws has condemned their lives utterly miserable.

"A country that categorizes its minority communities into second or third tiers of citizenship is evoked with sudden sympathy for minorities in other countries," Aryan said as he rejected all the untenable and unsolicited remarks made by Pakistan against India.

Noting that Pakistan set up a minority commission after more than 60 years of its existence, he said that no minorities can represent themselves in the so-called minority commission.

"It's unfortunate, however, not unexpected from the deep state of Pakistan which is continuing incessant abuse of its membership of this august Council for propagating an illegal, immoral and inhuman territorial ambition," said Vimarsh Aryan, first secretary at the ministry of external affairs.

"It very conveniently ignores that Vienna Declaration & Programme of Action (VDPA) explicitly states that the principle of self-determination must not be used as a garb to promote activities detrimental to the territorial integrity and political unity of member states in violation of the UN Charter," said the India representative.

"This epicentre of global terrorism (Pakistan) very irresponsibly harps on self-determination of the already democratic Jammu and Kashmir.

"We are witnessing in Pakistan unabated torture, maiming and systematic persecution of religious minorities. Attacks on a Hindu funeral procession and a Christian church days ago in Sindh and Punjab provinces portray the horrific plight of various minorities in Pakistan," said Aryan.