Bhavika Mangalanandan represented India in the UN interactive dialogue on funeral rights in exceptional circumstances
India said Pakistan defends the rights of terrorists more vigorously than the rights of terrorism victims
Mangalanandan invoked the 1999 Kargil War to counter Pakistan’s remarks on faith, religious freedom and burial rights
India on Thursday criticised Pakistan at the United Nations over terrorism, religious freedom and Jammu and Kashmir, saying the rights of terrorists are defended far more vigorously than the rights of terrorism victims. The exchange came in an interactive dialogue on funeral rights in exceptional circumstances with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief.
Bhavika Mangalanandan, India’s First Secretary at the United Nations, joined the discussion and pushed back on Pakistan’s remarks. She said the report singled out alleged Covid-19 wrong practices in the Global South while overlooking similar tragedies in developed countries. She said it was “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 fervor on faith, religious freedom and burial rights.”
Mangalanandan also used the Kargil conflict to rebut Pakistan’s criticism. She said Pakistan had declined to take the bodies of its soldiers killed in the war, while the Indian Army buried several Pakistani soldiers with full military honours and in line with Islamic rites.
“Let me remind Pakistan that it was the Indian Army who buried a number of Pakistani soldiers with military honours and in accordance with Islamic rites,” she said during the dialogue. The Kargil War was fought between India and Pakistan from May 3 to July 26, 1999, and saw the Indian Army successfully mobilise ground forces for high-altitude frontal and night assaults.
Pakistan Critique Points
Mangalanandan broadened the criticism. She said the report attributed all wrong practices during Covid-19 only to the Global South while turning a blind eye to similar tragic situations in the developed world.
She also referred to what she called fervent advocacy for the rights of terrorists who violate “the most sacred human right” — the right to life. In the same remarks, she said it was ironic that Pakistan, which did not accept the bodies of its own soldiers killed in combat in Kargil in 1999, was speaking strongly on faith, religious freedom and burial rights.
She rejected Pakistan’s comments on Jammu and Kashmir and said Islamabad should focus instead on areas under its illegal occupation. “Pakistan’s deep obsession with the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir should be directed at the developments underway in the parts of Jammu and Kashmir under its illegal occupation, such as Rawalakot,” she said.
Mangalanandan also raised concerns over the declining population of minorities in Pakistan and alleged violations of their rights. She said Pakistan should focus on the territories under its illegal occupation instead of lecturing India.
