No faith, no law, no morality: India calls out Pakistan over brutal attacks on Afghan civilians
United Nations, May 21
India called out Pakistan's hypocrisy in claiming to champion international law while brutally killing civilians in Afghanistan, even during the Islamic holy month and targeting civilian patients leaving the mosque after evening prayers.
India's Permanent Representative P. Harish reminded the Security Council on Wednesday (local time), "The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has reported that in the first three months of 2026, 750 civilian deaths and injuries were documented in Afghanistan as a result of cross-border armed violence perpetrated by Pakistani military forces, most of which occurred due to air strikes."
Participating in an open debate convened by the month's president, China, on "Protection of civilians in armed conflict", Harish responded to Pakistan's Permanent Representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad's diatribe against India as he brought up Kashmir.
Harish said, "With no faith, no law, and no morality, the world can see through Pakistan's propaganda".
"It is ironic that Pakistan, with its long-tainted record of genocidal acts, has chosen to refer to issues that are strictly internal to India", he said.
He added, "It is hypocritical to espouse high principles of international law while targeting innocent civilians in the dark".
Quoting extensively from UNAMA's Human Rights Service report "Cross-border civilian casualties in Afghanistan", released on May 10, India's Permanent Representative highlighted a Pakistani attack on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Afghanistan.
"It was during the holy month of Ramadan in March this year, at a time of peace, reflection, and mercy, that Pakistan conducted a barbaric airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul", he said.
"According to UNAMA, this cowardly and unconscionable act of violence claimed the lives of 269 civilians and injured a further 122 in a facility which can by no means be justified as a military target", he said.
Quoting UNAMA, he emphasised that "the air strikes by Pakistan occurred at the conclusion of tarawih evening prayers, when numerous patients were leaving the masjid".
Over 94,000 people became refugees due to Pakistan's cross-border violence perpetrated against Afghan civilians, he said.
"Such heinous acts of aggression by Pakistan should not come as a surprise from a country that bombs its own people and conducts systematic genocide", Harish said, referring to the genocide committed by Islamabad during Bangladesh's freedom struggle.
"During Operation Searchlight in 1971, Pakistan sanctioned the systematic campaign of genocidal mass rape of 400,000 women citizens by its own army", he said.
"Such inhuman conduct reflects Pakistan's repeated attempts over decades to externalise internal failures through increasingly desperate acts of violence both within and beyond its borders", he added.
The UNAMA report covering the first three months of the year recorded Pakistan's attacks across Afghanistan.
It said that 72 women, 48 girls and 95 boys were among the victims of Pakistani attacks.
The report pointed out that international humanitarian law prohibits attacks on civilians and civilian facilities, and requires that "parties to the conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians and combatants".
"Medical personnel and facilities are explicitly afforded special protections under international humanitarian law", it added.
— IANS
Reader Comments
👏 Absolutely justified criticism. Pakistan always plays the victim card, but the facts are clear now. 750 civilian casualties in just 3 months, including women and children. And they have the audacity to talk about Kashmir? Hypocrisy at its peak. India must continue to call out such terror sponsors in every forum.
As someone who follows international relations closely, I find India's statement fact-based and necessary. The UNAMA report is credible, and targeting medical facilities is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. Pakistan needs to answer for these atrocities instead of deflecting blame. The 1971 genocide reference was also important context that cannot be forgotten.
Good that India is speaking up, but I wish we would also address our own internal issues like human rights in Kashmir. That said, Pakistan's actions in Afghanistan are indefensible—bombing civilians in a hospital during Ramadan is simply barbaric. This is why the world cannot take Pakistan's claims of 'peace' seriously. They export terror and then cry foul when called out.
Strong diplomatic move by India. The UNAMA data is damning—269 dead in a single attack on a medical facility, and 94,000 refugees fleeing Pakistani violence. How can Pakistan claim to uphold international law while committing such acts? The Security Council should take note. India's Permanent Representative did a great job presenting the facts without any ambiguity.
🇮🇳 Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Finally someone from India is telling the truth about Pakistan's double standards at the UN. 400,000 women raped in 1971
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