In a strong rebuttal at the United Nations, India blasted Pakistan over its abysmal record on women’s rights and accused it of conducting a genocidal campaign of mass rape during Operation Searchlight in 1971, when more than 400,000 women were brutalised. The statement came after Pakistan attempted to raise the issue of the “plight” of Kashmiri women at the UN Security Council debate on women and security.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, delivered a fiery speech condemning Pakistan’s “delusional tirades” and attempts to divert global attention from its own atrocities.
“Our pioneering record on women, peace and security agenda is unblemished and unscathed. A country that bombs its own people, conducts systematic genocide can only attempt to distract the world with misdirection and hyperbole,” Harish said.
The “bombing its own people” remark referred to the Pakistani air force’s air strike in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last month, which killed over 30 people, including children.
India Reminds World of 1971’s Operation Searchlight
India’s representative invoked the dark chapter of Operation Searchlight, a 1971 military operation by the Pakistani army in what was then East Pakistan. The operation, led by General Tikka Khan, known as the ‘Butcher of Bengal’, involved mass killings, rapes, and widespread human rights violations.
ALSO READ: Bihar Assembly Election 2025: Voting, counting dates and all you need to know
“This is a country that conducted Operation Searchlight in 1971 and sanctioned a systematic campaign of genocidal mass rape of 400,000 women citizens by its own army. The world sees through Pakistan’s propaganda,” Harish said, pointing to Pakistan’s long record of atrocities and hypocrisy on women’s rights.
The 1971 atrocities eventually led to Bangladesh’s liberation after Pakistan’s military surrendered in Dhaka.
Pakistan’s representative Saima Saleem, in her address, alleged that women in Kashmir had “endured sexual violence deployed as a weapon of war” for decades, but she failed to provide any supporting evidence for her claims.
India’s strong response reaffirmed its commitment to women’s rights and global peace while exposing Pakistan’s history of violence and systematic oppression.
