‘IMF-Bailout Nation Lectures On Kashmir? J&K’s Budget Twice What Pakistan Begged For’: India Roasts Pak At UNHRC

New Delhi: India on Thursday tore into Pakistan at the 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), contrasting Jammu and Kashmir’s rising development outlay with Islamabad’s deepening economic distress.

Exercising its Right to Reply during the high-level segment, India’s representative Anupama Singh accused Pakistan of peddling “incessant propaganda” and dragging multilateral platforms into a “campaign driven by envy and diversion”.

In a sharp economic comparison that drew attention in the chamber, Singh said Jammu and Kashmir’s development budget is “more than double” the recent bailout package sought by Pakistan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The remark underscored New Delhi’s attempt to flip the narrative, projecting J&K as a region on an infrastructure and governance upswing while portraying Pakistan as struggling to stay afloat financially.

Calling out the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Singh alleged the grouping had reduced itself to an “echo chamber” for a single member state. “We categorically reject these allegations,” she said, adding that Pakistan’s repeated references to Kashmir “reek of envy”.

Reiterating India’s long-held position, she asserted that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India”, describing its 1947 accession as legal and irrevocable under the Indian Independence Act and international law. She maintained that the only unresolved issue is what India calls Pakistan’s illegal occupation of parts of the region and urged Islamabad to vacate territories under its control.

In a pointed swipe, Singh referenced the inauguration of the Chenab Rail Bridge, billed as the world’s highest railway bridge, in Jammu and Kashmir last year. "If the Chenab Rail Bridge, the world's highest bridge, inaugurated in Jammu and Kashmir last year, is fake, then Pakistan must be hallucinating or living in a 'la-la-land’,” she said.

India also pushed back against criticism on democratic processes, saying it was difficult to accept lectures on democracy from a country where civilian governments rarely complete full terms. Citing voter participation in recent elections in the Union Territory, Singh said residents have rejected terrorism and chosen the path of development.

Concluding her remarks, Singh accused Pakistan of attempting to destabilise the region through " relentless state-sponsored terrorism”, while asserting that Jammu and Kashmir continues to progress politically, economically and socially.

The fiery exchange marks yet another round of diplomatic sparring between New Delhi and Islamabad at global forums, with India accusing Pakistan of attempting to mask its internal crises through “grandstanding on Kashmir”.

"Pakistan would do well if it focuses on fixing its deepening internal crisis rather than masking it with grandstanding at such a platform," she said, adding that "the world can certainly see through its charade."

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