'Army is the rule, army is the law': India tears into Pakistan at UN over minority rights

NEW DELHI: India on Sunday accused Pakistan of using allegations about the treatment of religious minorities in India to divert attention from its own record on minority rights, judicial independence and press freedom.Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly's Sixth Committee during discussions on the rule of law at national and international levels, Mythili R, a counsellor at India's Permanent Mission to the UN, accused Islamabad of preaching legal accountability abroad while undermining it at home.She described Pakistan as a country where "the army is the rule and the law", alleging that judicial independence had been weakened, civilians were being tried in military courts and political opposition was being suppressed."At the UN, Pakistan lectures others on the rule of law. Yet at home, the Army is the rule, and the Army is the law. Judicial independence undermined, civilians tried in military courts, political opposition suppressed," she said, according to a statement shared by India's Permanent Mission to the UN on X.India slams Pakistan's record on minorities Mythili also challenged Pakistan's claims on minority rights, pointing to what she described as a steady decline in the proportion of minorities in the country's population since its creation.She questioned press freedom in Pakistan, referring to the Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines issued by its Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Under the guidelines, foreign media outlets must obtain a "No-Objection Certificate" to report freely outside Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.The Indian diplomat accused Pakistan of repeatedly failing to uphold the rule of law and said its focus on India was misplaced."The rule of law bestows an obligation upon those in positions of power to do good for those they govern. However, in the case of Pakistan, unfortunately, this promise is broken again and again. It is not India that has an obsession with Pakistan but the other way round," she said.India defends Operation SindoorThe exchange also brought the two countries' sharply contrasting positions on cross-border terrorism into focus. Mythili defended India's response to the Pakistan-backed terror attack in Pahalgam last year, which killed 26 people, describing Operation Sindoor as measured and proportionate.She urged Pakistan to stop repeating what she called baseless allegations against India, arguing that doing so would not shield its representatives from accountability for promises made to their own people."Reading and re-reading the same laundry list of false allegations against my country will not absolve Pakistani representatives of the promises that they have made to their people and which they have no intention to keep," she said.Taking a swipe at Pakistan's claims about the outcome of the military confrontation, she added, "As far as the result of the same is concerned, if bombed airfields and destroyed hangars are victory, they are welcome to enjoy it," she said.India warns against nuclear blackmailThe latest exchange followed India's response on Saturday to Pakistan's remarks at the UN General Assembly's First Committee, where discussions included disarmament and international security.First Secretary Anmol Sher Singh Bedi said India's military posture was defensive and guided by its own security requirements, rather than directed against any particular country. He defended India's response to the Pahalgam attack as "measured, targeted, and non-escalatory" and an exercise of its right to self-defence.Bedi laid out India's position on terrorism and the risk of nuclear escalation, stating, "First: Any terrorist attack against India will receive a fitting response; Second: India will not bow to nuclear blackmail; Third: India will make no distinction between those who sponsor terrorism and those who mastermind it."He argued that states could not escape responsibility for supporting militant groups by acting through non-state actors, adding that such actions did not diminish India's right to defend itself."Escalation concerns are best judged by conduct, over rhetoric. Nuclear weapons must not be a routine instrument of statecraft. Relying on a nuclear overhang to limit the consequences of sub-conventional activity raises escalation risk, not restraint," he said.Bedi also criticised what he described as a recurring pattern in regional crises, involving provocation, denial of responsibility and calls for restraint after retaliation.He said, "where those in power are neither elected by nor accountable to the people, crisis becomes an instrument of power and instability becomes useful."Reaffirming India's stated commitment to peace, Bedi said the country did not seek conflict but would respond to threats. He concluded, "without accountability for reckless actions, peace merely becomes a pause between crises."You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.