In a sharp exchange at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, India has hit back at Pakistan’s latest claims regarding Jammu and Kashmir, with Indian envoy Anupama Singh suggesting Islamabad must be living in "La-La Land". The confrontation took place during the 55th Regular Session, where Singh dismissed Pakistani and OIC rhetoric as "propaganda reeks of envy."
The First Secretary did not pull any punches, stating that while India had no desire to "dignify" the allegations, she would provide the facts to dismantle them. She reiterated that the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India in 1947 was both legal and irrevocable under international law. In a particularly pointed jab at Pakistan's struggling economy, Singh noted that the development budget for Jammu and Kashmir is now more than double the size of the recent bailout package Islamabad had to beg from the IMF.
Singh also pointed to the record voter turnouts in recent elections as proof that the local population has rejected the "ideology of terrorism" she claims is pushed by Pakistan. To highlight the region's modernisation, she cited the Chenab Rail Bridge — the world's highest railway bridge, inaugurated last year — as a tangible reality that Pakistan seemingly finds "unbelievable."
Responding to lectures on democratic values, the Indian envoy took a swipe at Pakistan's political instability, remarking that it was difficult to take lessons from a country where civilian governments rarely manage to finish their terms. She ended her statement by urging Islamabad to withdraw from the territories it is currently “forcibly occupying.”
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