UNITED NATIONS, MAY 21: India strongly criticised Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council, accusing it of a “long-tainted” history of genocidal acts and using violence to divert attention from its internal failures.
Addressing the UNSC Open Debate on ‘Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’ on Wednesday, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, said it was ironic that Pakistan had chosen to raise issues that are “strictly internal to India,” referring to Islamabad’s remarks on Jammu and Kashmir.
“It is ironic that Pakistan, with its long-tainted record of genocidal acts, has chosen to refer to issues that are strictly internal to India,” Parvathaneni said.
He also referred to Pakistan’s alleged airstrikes in Kabul earlier this year, claiming that during the holy month of Ramadan in March, Pakistan targeted the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, killing civilians.
Citing the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Parvathaneni said the attack reportedly killed 269 civilians and injured 122 others, calling it a “cowardly and unconscionable act of violence” against a non-military target.
He further accused Pakistan of hypocrisy for speaking about international law while “targeting innocent civilians in the dark.” According to UNAMA, the strikes took place after tarawih prayers when many patients were leaving the mosque premises.
Parvathaneni also said more than 94,000 people had been displaced due to cross-border violence affecting Afghan civilians.
In his remarks, the Indian envoy also referred to Operation Searchlight, alleging that Pakistan’s military carried out systematic atrocities during the 1971 conflict in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.
“Such inhuman conduct reflects Pakistan’s repeated attempts over decades to externalise internal failures through increasingly desperate acts of violence both within and beyond its borders,” he said.
“With no faith, no law, and no morality, the world can see through Pakistan’s propaganda,” Parvathaneni added.
