'Mischievous provocation' & 'political propaganda': India slams Pakistan at UNSC

United Nations: India slammed Pakistan’s “mischievous provocation” and “political propaganda” during a Security Council meeting on women, peace and security, saying the condition of women belonging to minority communities, notably Hindus, Sikhs and Christians in the country remains deplorable.

“It is despicable yet entirely predictable that one delegation has chosen to indulge in mischievous provocation based on their tried and tested tactic of spreading misinformation and disinformation,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador P Harish said in the UNSC on Friday.

Harish delivered India’s statement at the UNSC Open Debate on ‘Women Building Peace in a Changing Environment’.

In a strong Right of Reply to Pakistan, which again raked the issue of Kashmir at the debate, Harish said, “It's completely misplaced to indulge in such political propaganda at this important annual debate.” “We are well aware that the condition of women belonging to minority communities, notably Hindus, Sikhs and Christians in that country, remains deplorable,” he said.

Harish added that an estimated thousand women of these minority communities, as per data of Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission, are subject to “abduction, forced religious conversions and forced marriages every year. Anyway, I could go on, but I'll end here.”

At the debate, India reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Harish stressed that sustainable peace requires women's full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation at all levels of decision-making including politics, governance, institution-building, rule of law, the security sector, and economic recovery.

Needless to say that economic and social well being of the population in general and women in particular are integral to sustainable peace.

Highlighting the significant strides in implementing the WPS agenda, Harish said that as the fifth-largest troop contributor, India deployed the first-ever all-female Formed Police Unit to Liberia in 2007, setting a precedent in UN peacekeeping. “Their work garnered tremendous appreciation within Liberia and in the UN,” he said.

He underlined that in a rapidly changing world, “we must harness new technologies to enhance women's participation while guarding against online threats and dsinformation.

“We have leveraged digital technologies to minimise gender divide, enhance financial inclusion and empower women, especially in rural India. We call upon the international community to develop robust mechanisms to address these emerging challenges.”