India, Pakistan spar at UNHRC over Kashmir as New Delhi calls Islamabad 'world's terrorism factory'

Geneva: Minorities have held positions at the highest levels in India, including becoming presidents and vice-presidents, while Pakistan only has blasphemy laws for their minorities, India retorted at the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). “Apart from becoming world’s terrorism factory, Pakistan has also alienated its own people through continued mistreatment of Hindus, Christians, Shias, Ahmadiyas and other minorities,” Nabanita Chakrabarti, under-secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs said. “In this council, Pakistan has referred to situation of minorities in India. Minorities in India have been prime ministers, presidents, vice-presidents, senior cabinet ministers, senior civil servants, cricket team captains, Bollywood superstars. Can the minorities of Pakistan claim even a shadow of this? All they have are blasphemy laws and relentless abuse and violation of their human rights,” Chakrabarti added using India’s Right of Reply (RoR) during a discussion on ‘human rights situations that require the council’s attention at the 34th session of the UNHRC in Geneva. Pakistan must rein in its “compulsive hostility” towards India — it has a “selective approach” in tackling terror groups operating outside Pakistan and within. [caption id=“attachment_3326502” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] “We do not accept attempts by Pakistan to denigrate the democratic choice that has been regularly exercised by the people of Jammu & Kashmir over the last six decades since our independence,” India said. Pakistan had earlier said that “the repression in Jammu and Kashmir is the most reprehensible manifestation of the flogging of human rights and the unleashing of violence by an increasingly communal and extremist state”. This is the fourth time that the two rival countries have clashed at the council in its current session. It began with the Pakistani law minister making a statement on the Kashmir situation speaking at its high-level segment on 1 March, stating that “the Indian claim that the deteriorating human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir is an internal affair of India is factually incorrect, legally untenable and in violation of the UN Security Council resolution”. “I would also like to point out that Pakistan’s unwarranted references to UN Security Council resolutions are grossly misleading as Pakistan was required to vacate parts of the state of Jammu and Kashmir under its illegal and forced occupation,” India had said in response. India had responded to Pakistan’s statements on 9 and 10 March as well. Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, and Pakistan’s former national security adviser Mahmud Ali Durrani “have admitted” that several terrorist groups were supported and trained by Pakistan to create disturbances in Kashmir. So, “no wonder, the perpetrators of Mumbai and other recent attacks have not been brought to justice by Pakistan,” India had told the council on 10 March. “In the wake of growing international concern, Pakistan must shut down its terrorism factory,” India added.