When Islamabad was reminded at the UN that the Indian Army buried fallen Pakistani soldiers at Kargil

Pakistan did not even accept the bodies of its own soldiers killed in combat during the 1999 Kargil War, yet speaks about faith, religious freedom, and burials, India told the United Nations (UN).

When the Indian Army wanted to hand over the bodies of Pakistani soldiers who died in the Kargil War, they were told the bodies belonged to Mujahideen. Islamabad refused to acknowledge the involvement of Pakistan Army personnel in the war and decided against accepting the mortal remains of their fallen comrades.

Addressing the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief on the topic of funeral rights in exceptional circumstances, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Bhavika Mangalanandan took the opportunity to remind Pakistan that it was the Indian Army that buried several Pakistani soldiers with military honours and in accordance with Islamic rites.

The interim report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, Nazila Ghanea, said that "Reports of systemic denial of funeral rights in the context of individuals killed in security operations in Jammu and Kashmir, India, including denial of return of bodies to families and remote and secret burials, disproportionately affecting Muslims and notably inconsistent with their practices, raise serious concerns."

Responding to the report, Bhavika Mangalanandan said, "It is deeply ironic that a State that did not even accept the bodies of its own soldiers who were killed in combat in 1999 in Kargil unabashedly speaks with fervour on faith, religious freedom, and burials."

"Pakistan's deep obsession with what is happening in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir should actually be directed at the developments that are underway in the parts of Jammu and Kashmir under its illegal occupation, such as Rawalakot," she said, adding that in Pakistan, the number of minorities is shrinking and their rights are regularly abused.

"A State that cannot ensure the safety of its own minorities has no standing to lecture India," she said.

Mangalanandan added that burial rights for terrorists are being justified by indicating that States may restrict funeral rights of terrorists, but only within legal limits.

"Legal limits should be determined in accordance with the principles of sovereign rights. A terrorist not only kills innocent people but damages the psyche of a nation," she was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. She added that the report's fervent advocacy for the rights of terrorists, who violate the most sacred right of humans—the right to life—does not similarly extend to the victims of terrorism.

"The report goes back half a decade to find references to my country. It fails when it comes to grave violations committed recently in our region and in the developed world," she said.

"What benefit does the report derive by not mentioning similar tragic situations in the developed world? Deriving political mileage out of people's pain and loss should not be a topic that SRs (Special Rapporteurs) should base their relevance on," she said.