Indian diplomat Kshitij Tyagi delivered a blistering response to Switzerland at the UN Human Rights Council, calling out the “surprising, shallow and ill-informed remarks.”
The remarks came a day after Switzerland called on India to “take effective measures to protect the minorities and uphold the rights to the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media.”
At the 5th Meeting of the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Indian diplomat said, “As it holds the UNHRC presidency, it is all the more important for Switzerland to avoid wasting the council’s time with narratives that are blatantly false and do not do justice to the reality of India.
He directed Switzerland to focus on its own domestic challenges, pointing to issues such as “racism, systematic discrimination and xenophobia.”
“As the world’s largest, most diverse and vibrant democracy, with a civilisational embrace of pluralism, India remains ready to help Switzerland address these concerns,” he added.
FIERY REJOINDER TO PAKISTAN
Tyagi also delivered a sharp rebuke to Pakistan. In a pointed speech, he called Islamabad as “dump truck” of recycled lies and labelled Pakistan a failed state “surviving on instability and handouts.”
“Our measured and proportionate response to the Pahalgam attack made that sufficiently clear. We need no lessons from a terror sponsor, no sermons from a persecutor of minorities, no advice from a state that has conjured its own credibility. India will continue to protect its citizens with unwavering resolve. We will defend our sovereignty without compromise,” he said.
This is not the first instance of Tyagi delivering a hard-hitting response to Pakistan at the UN. In February, during the 58th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, he had called Pakistan a “failed state” reliant on “international handouts.” At that session, he said, “It is regrettable to see Pakistan’s so-called leaders and delegates continuing to dutifully spread falsehoods handed down by its military terrorist complex,” dismissing Islamabad’s claims on Jammu and Kashmir as “baseless and malicious.”
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With inputs from agencies