India hits out at Pak on terror, persecution of minorities at UNHRC

HOLY SITES OF PAKISTAN’S RELIGIOUS MINORITIES HAVE BEEN ‘ATTACKED AND VANDALISED DAILY’, HE ADDED. FIRST SECY IN INDIA’S PERMANENT MISSION SAID

India on Tuesday criticised Pakistan for again raising the Kashmir issue at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), saying the government in Islamabad had failed to tackle terrorism or prevent the “systematic persecution” of religious minorities.

New Delhi’s position was conveyed in response to a speech by Pakistan’s representative at the UN human rights agency following an update on the global human rights situation by UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet last week. Bachelet had said restrictions on communications in Jammu and Kashmir remained a concern.

Pawan Badhe, first secretary in India’s permanent mission in Geneva, said Pakistan has “ignored that terrorism is the worst form of human rights abuse and the supporters of terrorism are the worst abusers of human rights”.

“The members of this council are well aware that Pakistan has provided pensions to dreaded and listed terrorists out of state funds and has the dubious distinction of hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the UN,” he said. Pakistani leaders had “admitted the fact that it has become a factory for producing terrorists”, he added.

Turning to Pakistan’s religious minorities, Badhe said: “The council should ask Pakistan why the size of its minority communities such as Christians, Hindus and Sikhs has drastically shrunk since independence and why they and other communities, such as Ahmadiyas, Shias, Pashtuns, Sindhis and Baloch, have been subjected to draconian blasphemy laws, systemic persecution, blatant abuses and forced conversions.”

Holy sites of Pakistan’s religious minorities have been “attacked and vandalised daily”, he added.

Enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings and arbitrary detentions of those who speak against the security establishment are “rampant in Pakistan and have been carried out by the state’s security agencies with impunity”, Badhe said.