Right to Reply by India under Agenda Item 9: Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance during 59th Session of the Human Rights Council (16 June – 9 July 2025) delivered by Mr. Mohammed Hussain K.S., Counsellor & Legal Adviser, Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations Geneva on 3 July 2025

Madam Vice President,

The Indian delegation is compelled to exercise its Right of Reply in response to yet another baseless and malicious statement by Pakistan — a habitual offender in misusing UN forums to peddle falsehoods and propaganda.

Terrorism is the greatest enemy of humankind, and Pakistan’s desperate attempts to invert reality by distorting facts are not only misleading but also deeply ironic, given its well-documented role as the epicenter of cross-border terrorism.

The Council needs no lecture from Pakistan — a country where minorities face systemic discrimination and persecution, often with the direct involvement by the state.

On 22 April 2025, 26 innocent Indian tourists were brutally massacred in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir — victims of a barbaric terrorist attack orchestrated by Pakistani terrorists. This heinous act, rightly condemned by the UN Security Council, lays bare the true face of Pakistan’s state-sponsored terror apparatus.

Pakistan’s attempts to mischaracterize India's targeted and proportionate counter-terror operations are not only false — they are unacceptable.

A nation that glorifies UN-designated terrorists with public honors and state funerals forfeits any credibility when it comes to preaching peace or human rights. Pakistan’s record is not a matter of opinion — it is a matter of international infamy.

Madam Vice President 

The only crisis in Jammu & Kashmir stems from Pakistan’s continued export of cross-border terrorism and its attempts to ruin the local economy — a direct consequence of its continued sponsorship of terrorism as state policy. 

Let us be clear: no amount of pretense or repetition can lend credibility to Pakistan’s fabricated narrative. The international community is not blind to its pattern of distortion and denial.

We urge Pakistan to look inward, address the rot of terrorism within its borders, and cease its obsessive and futile attempts to vilify India on the world stage. It would do well to focus on its internal human rights and treatment of minorities rather than wasting this esteemed Council’s time. 

Thank you.