Climate of fear among minorities in Pakistan: India at UNHRC

India has highlighted the " systematic persecution, forced conversions, targeted killings, sectarian violence and faith-based discrimination" minorities in Pakistan while slamming the country at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

In the "right of reply", the first secretary at the Indian mission to the UN in Geneva, Pawan Badhe pointed out that, "Pakistan has failed to protect the rights of its minorities, including Sikhs, Hindus, Christians and Ahmadiyas", even as "thousands of women and girls from minority communities have been subjected to abductions, forced marriages and conversions in Pakistan" and "its occupied territories" in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(POK).  

There have been several cases of abduction, including of Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur in 2019 and Bulbul Kaur in 2020. Jagjit was the daughter of a Granthi and later converted to Ayesha Bibi.

In the statement, the Indian diplomat also talked about how "Pakistan has been engaged in incidents of violence against minority communities" which included "attacks on their places of worship, cultural heritage, as well as their private property being taken away with impunity."

December last year saw a Hindu shrine being demolished by an extremist mob in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The demolishing took place after a local cleric Maulvi Mohammad Sharif incited a mob to demolish the shrine since then, there have been more such instances, including the attack on a Ganesh temple.

India also raised the issue of Pakistan "openly supporting, training, financing and arming terrorists including UN proscribed terrorists" as a "matter of state policy".

UN has listed a large number of Pakistan-based individuals and groups as international terrorists including Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM) responsible for major attacks in India including the 26/11 attack in Mumbai in 2008 and the Pulwama attack in 2019.

Giving an earful to Pakistan, Pawan said, "India as not only the world’s largest democracy but a robustly functional and a vibrant one does not need lessons from a failed state like Pakistan which is the epicentre of terrorism and the worst abuser of Human Rights."

During the statement, India also regretted the references made by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir and asked the group not to allow itself to be "held hostage by Pakistan". Pakistan holds the chairmanship of OIC's Geneva chapter.