‘Sanctioned Rape of 400,000 Women’: India Hits Back at Pakistan Over Kashmir at UN

India strongly countered Pakistan’s claims at the UN Security Council debate on “Women, Peace and Security,” reminding the world of Islamabad’s atrocities during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

Speaking at the session, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, dismissed Pakistan’s remarks on Kashmir as a “delusional tirade” and accused Islamabad of using international platforms to spread propaganda.

“Every year, we are unfortunately fated to listen to the delusional tirade of Pakistan against my country, especially on Jammu and Kashmir — the Indian territory they covet,” Harish said.

He cited Pakistan’s own human rights record, recalling Operation Searchlight in 1971, during which Pakistan’s army carried out a systematic campaign of mass rape affecting 400,000 women.

“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.

The Indian envoy described Pakistan as a nation that “bombs its own people and conducts systematic genocide”, accusing Islamabad of using misdirection and exaggeration to divert attention from its actions.

Pakistan’s remarks, delivered by Saima Saleem, counsellor at its UN mission, alleged decades of sexual violence against Kashmiri women and urged their plight to be reflected in future UNSC reports.

India dismissed these claims, reaffirming New Delhi’s unblemished record on women, peace, and security, highlighting its long-standing contributions to UN peacekeeping and early recognition of women as indispensable agents of peace—including the deployment of Indian women medical officers to Congo in the 1960s.

Earlier this year, India also hosted the International Conference on Women Peacekeepers from the Global South, convening women peacekeepers from 35 nations to advance strategies for greater female participation in peace missions.

The debate marked 25 years of UN Resolution 1325, which emphasizes the prevention of violations of women’s rights during conflicts and the critical role of women in peacebuilding.

This strong rebuttal follows India’s earlier response to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s UN General Assembly speech in September, where New Delhi criticized Islamabad for presenting “misdirected facts” on Jammu and Kashmir.