Pakistan living in ‘la la land’, says India at U.N. Human Rights Council in response to Islamabad’s J&K claims

India delivered a sharp rebuttal to Pakistan at the 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, accusing Islamabad of “spreading propaganda” and asserting that Jammu and Kashmir’s development trajectory stands in contrast to Pakistan’s economic troubles.

Exercising India’s Right to Reply during the high-level segment held on February 25, Anupama Singh, India’s representative, rejected allegations made by Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying the grouping had allowed itself to be used as an “echo chamber” for one member state.

“We categorically reject these allegations, “ Ms. Singh said, adding that Pakistan’s “incessant propaganda now reeks of envy”.

Ms. Singh reiterated India’s long-standing position that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.” She said the accession of the region to India in 1947 was “completely legal and irrevocable,” in accordance with the Indian Independence Act and international law.

“The only outstanding dispute regarding this region is the illegal occupation of Indian territories by Pakistan,” she stated, calling on Islamabad to vacate areas under its control.

In a pointed remark, Ms. Singh referenced infrastructure and economic development in the region, including the inauguration of the Chenab Rail Bridge, described as the world’s highest railway bridge.

“If the Chenab Rail Bridge, the world’s highest bridge, inaugurated in Jammu and Kashmir last year, is fake, then Pakistan must be hallucinating or living in the ‘La-la-land’”, she said.

She further claimed that the development budget of Jammu and Kashmir is “more than double the recent bailout package” Pakistan sought from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), contrasting what she described as governance and development in the Union Territory with Pakistan’s economic challenges.

Responding to criticism on democratic processes, Ms. Singh said it was “hard to take lectures on democracy from a country where civilian governments rarely complete their terms.”

She cited voter turnout in recent general and assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir as evidence that people in the region have “rejected the ideology of terrorism and violence” and are moving ahead on the path of development.

‘Destabilising the region’

Concluding her remarks, Ms. Singh accused Pakistan of attempting to destabilise the region through “relentless state-sponsored terrorism,” while asserting that Jammu and Kashmir continues to progress politically, economically and socially.

“Pakistan would do well if it focuses on fixing its deepening internal crisis rather than masking it with grandstanding at such a platform, “ she said, adding that “the world can certainly see through its charade.”

The exchange marks the latest round of sharp diplomatic sparring between India and Pakistan at multilateral forums like the UNHRC over the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.