‘Living in La-la-land’: India tears into Pakistan at UNHRC over Kashmir, IMF bailout

India launched a pointed counter at Pakistan during the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), dismissing Islamabad’s allegations on Jammu and Kashmir and accusing it of recycling propaganda driven by “envy”.

The remarks came as New Delhi exercised its Right to Reply on February 25 during the high-level segment of the Council. The exchange adds to the long-running diplomatic contest between the two neighbours at global forums, where Jammu and Kashmir routinely becomes the flashpoint.

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According to news agency ANI, India’s representative Anupama Singh firmly rejected statements made by Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying the grouping had reduced itself to an “echo chamber” for one country.

“We categorically reject these allegations,” Singh said, asserting that Pakistan’s “incessant propaganda now reeks of envy.”

India restates legal position on Jammu and Kashmir

Reaffirming India’s established stand, Singh told the Council that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.” She described the region’s accession in 1947 as “completely legal and irrevocable,” carried out in line with the Indian Independence Act and international law.

“The only outstanding dispute regarding this region is the illegal occupation of Indian territories by Pakistan,” she said, urging Islamabad to vacate areas under its control.

Chenab bridge and IMF bailout used to counter Pakistan’s claims

In a remark that drew notice in the chamber, Singh referred to the Chenab Rail Bridge, described as the world’s highest railway bridge, inaugurated 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 the ‘La-la-land’,” she said.

She also drew a financial comparison, claiming that Jammu and Kashmir’s development budget is “more than double the recent bailout package” Pakistan asked for from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The contrast, she suggested, reflected differences in governance and economic direction.

In response to criticism of democratic processes, Singh remarked that it was “hard to take lectures on democracy from a country where civilian governments rarely complete their terms.” She pointed to voter participation in recent general and assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir as proof that people in the region have “rejected the ideology of terrorism and violence” and are choosing development.

In her closing remarks, Singh accused Pakistan of pursuing “relentless state-sponsored terrorism” aimed at destabilising the region, while maintaining that Jammu and Kashmir continues to advance economically, politically, and socially.

“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.”

The UNHRC session is underway in Geneva from February 23 to March 31.