India on Monday hit out at Pakistan for raising the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council and called out Islamabad’s “unique way” of respecting people’s will by jailing a prime minister and giving lifetime immunity to its army chief.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni’s strong response came after Pakistan's Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad raised the issues of Jammu and Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty during an open debate on 'Leadership for Peace'.
"Pakistan's unwarranted reference to Jammu and Kashmir in today's open debate attests to its obsessive focus on harming India and its people,” he said.
“Let me be clear - India will counter Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in all its forms and manifestations with all its might,” Harish said.
Responding to Islamabad's assertion that the Kashmir issue should be settled in accordance with the will of the people, the Indian envoy flagged the jailing of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, along with the banning of the ruling party and granting huge power to the military.
“Pakistan, of course, has a unique way of respecting the will of its people -- by jailing a prime minister, by banning the ruling political party, and by letting its armed forces engineer a constitutional coup through the 27th amendment and giving life-time immunity to its Chief of Defence Forces,” Harish said.
Khan has been imprisoned since his arrest in August 2023 on corruption charges and has reportedly been held for extended periods in solitary confinement.
Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has voiced serious concern over a recent report by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards, alleging that he is being subjected to degrading and inhuman treatment during his incarceration at Adiala Jail.
Pakistan recently passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, under which the Chief of Army Staff would now assume the title of Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces, while honorary ranks such as Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force, and Admiral of the Fleet would remain lifetime titles.