'Avoid Wasting Time, Focus on Your Own Challenges': India Issues Sharp Rebuttal to Switzerland's Remarks on Minorities
Additionally, India condemned Pakistan in the same session, labeling it a "failed state" surviving on "instability and handouts" and a "dump truck of recycled lies."
- World News
- 3 min read
Geneva: India issued a stern and comprehensive rebuttal to Switzerland on Wednesday after the European nation made remarks concerning the protection of minorities and freedom of expression in India during a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) held in Geneva.
The Indian delegation, represented by diplomat Kshitij Tyagi, delivered a pointed response to what it characterized as "surprising, shallow, and ill-informed remarks" from Switzerland. The exchange occurred a day after the Swiss delegation urged India to “take effective measures to protect the minorities and uphold the rights to the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media.”
Addressing the council during the 5th Meeting of the 60th Session of the UNHRC, Kshitij Tyagi emphasized that Switzerland, in its capacity as the president of the UNHRC, should refrain from diverting the council’s attention with what he described as “narratives that are blatantly false and do not do justice to the reality of India.”
He further advised Switzerland to concentrate on addressing its own domestic challenges, citing issues such as “racism, systematic discrimination, and xenophobia.” In a firm yet diplomatic tone, Kshitij Tyagi added, “As the world's largest, most diverse and vibrant democracy, with a civilizational embrace of pluralism, India remains ready to help Switzerland address these concerns.”
Advertisement
This diplomatic response comes against the backdrop of recently strengthened bilateral economic relations. Earlier this year, India and Switzerland successfully concluded the long-pending Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), which was ratified by Switzerland in July. The agreement, scheduled to take effect in October, is anticipated to catalyze investments worth $100 billion into India over the next 15 years and generate one million jobs.
‘Surviving on Instability and Handouts’: India Slams Pakistan
In the same session, Tyagi also directed strong criticism toward Pakistan. In his address, he referred to Pakistan as a “dump truck of recycled lies” and labeled it a “failed state” that is “surviving on instability and handouts.”
Advertisement
He firmly rejected Pakistan’s right to comment on India’s internal matters, particularly with respect to security and minority issues. “Our measured and proportionate response to the Pahalgam attack made that sufficiently clear. We need no lessons from a terror sponsor, no sermons from a persecutor of minorities, no advice from a state that has conjured its own credibility. India will continue to protect its citizens with unwavering resolve. We will defend our sovereignty without compromise,” he stated.
This is not the first instance of such a strong rebuttal from Tyagi directed at Pakistan. In February, during the 58th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, he had similarly criticized Pakistan, calling it a “failed state” reliant on “international handouts” and dismissing its claims regarding Jammu and Kashmir as “baseless and malicious.” On that occasion, he also accused Pakistani leaders of “dutifully spreading falsehoods handed down by their military terrorist complex.”