India calls out Pakistan at UNHRC over systemic use of blasphemy to terrorise minorities

India exercised its right to reply in response to statement made by Pakistan, at 43rd session of UN Human Rights Council. Senthil Kumar, First Secretary at Permanent Mission of India, Geneva said that systematic misuse of blasphemy in Pak has terrorized minorities in Pakistan. 'It's unfortunate that Pakistan continues to maintain its track record of misuse of the Human Rights Council and its mechanism. It's a matter of serious concern that Pakistan being the only country in South Asia of affecting a state-sponsored genocide would have the audacity to accuse others of it. It's dangerous that Pakistan now attempts to destabilize the well-established mandate of the Council and its mechanisms for serving its narrow political agenda against India,' said Senthil Kumar. 'Attention of the Council is drawn to the culture of impunity and crimes against humanity that the regimes and its puppets enjoy in Pakistan. It's not surprising that Pakistan does not criminalize enforced disappearances. About 2500 people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continue to be 'missing' for their political, religious affiliations or defence of human rights. Enforced disappearances, state violence and forced mass displacements, harassment, extrajudicial killings, army operations, torture, kill-and-dumps, torture camps, detention centres, military camps are regular features in Baluchistan. Nobody knows the fate of missing 47,000 Baloch and 35,000 Pashtuns till date. Sectarian violence has claimed more than 500 Hazaras in Baluchistan and more than 100,000 Hazaras have fled Pakistan,' he further added.