India Accuses Pakistan of Hypocrisy Over Burial Rights at UN
India criticized Pakistan at the United Nations, accusing Islamabad of failing to protect its own religious minorities while lecturing New Delhi on burial rights.
The Government of India delivered a sharp rebuke to Pakistan during a United Nations interactive dialogue on October 22, 2026, accusing Islamabad of hypocrisy regarding religious freedom and burial rights. The exchange followed an interim report by UN Special Rapporteur Nazila Ghanea, which raised concerns over the systemic denial of funeral rights for individuals killed in security operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Bhavika Mangalanandan, First Secretary of India's Permanent Mission to the UN, rejected the report's findings, arguing that it selectively targets the Global South and prioritizes the rights of terrorists over victims. She defended India's actions as remaining within legal limits to protect citizens from terrorism. Mangalanandan specifically cited the 1999 Kargil conflict as evidence of Pakistani hypocrisy, noting that the Indian Army buried Pakistani soldiers with military honors and Islamic rites after Islamabad refused to accept the bodies of its own soldiers.
India further urged Pakistan to address the shrinking population and regular abuse of religious minorities within its own borders, specifically mentioning forced conversions and abductions of Hindu girls in Sindh province. Mangalanandan stated that Pakistan should focus on its own administration of occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir, such as Rawalakot, rather than criticizing the Indian Union Territory.
