India’s representative accused Islamabad of deflecting attention from economic distress and human rights violations, while rejecting Pakistan’s claims on Jammu and Kashmir

India strongly hit back at Pakistan’s attempts at the UN to paint a “propagandist” picture of New Delhi, saying Islamabad’s “Form 47 government” can “dare not” override instructions from the country’s real rulers, the Pakistani military.

Form 47 is an official election document in Pakistan that records the provisional, consolidated results of voting in a constituency.

The February 2024 general elections were marred by allegations of rigging and irregularities, with critics using the term “Form 47” to question the official results.

During an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues at the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee on Saturday, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Raghoo Puri accused Pakistan of attempting to “paint a propagandist picture” of India.

Islamabad’s actions, he said, are aimed at diverting attention from its own domestic challenges, including economic distress, lawlessness and human rights violations.

“What better way to deflect attention from a flailing economy, general lawlessness, and rampant human rights violations from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Balochistan,” Puri said.

“But of course, the interest of the Fauj, the Pakistani army, who are the real rulers of the country, is supreme, and we fully understand the predicament of the Pakistani representative,” he said.

Questioning Islamabad’s record on protecting minority rights even as it sought to criticise India at the UN, Puri underlined that it is well-documented that Pakistan’s minorities have shrunk dramatically since its independence.

Pakistan frequently raises the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at international forums, challenging India’s position on the region.

Rejecting Islamabad’s claims, Puri reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India, asserting that the only outstanding issue was the vacation of areas under Pakistan’s illegal occupation.

“We would urge the Pakistani delegate to heed the counsel of her own countrymen, look inwards and focus on the well-being of her own citizens first,” he said.

Puri then invoked the term “Form 47 government”, used by critics of Pakistan’s ruling dispensation in reference to allegations of manipulation in the country’s 2024 general elections.

“But we do understand, unfortunately, that the Form 47 government dare not override instructions from the Pakistani military,” he said, adding that the interests of the armed forces, which he described as the country’s “real rulers”, took precedence.

The reference comes against the backdrop of longstanding concerns over the Pakistani military’s influence on the country’s political system.

Turning to the Special Rapporteur’s report on minority issues, Puri said India agreed with the premise that the protection and promotion of minority rights was primarily the sovereign responsibility of individual countries.

“Following the principle of sovereign equality, issues internal to a country should be handled as per the rules and regulations that govern it. We stand ready to have an open and candid conversation in multilateral forums to address these complex challenges,” he said.

Puri emphasised that India is the world’s most multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and multilingual society and diversity has been a central ethos of its civilisation.

“We are proud of it,” he said, pointing to constitutional provisions safeguarding the rights of religious and linguistic minorities.

He said members of minority communities had made significant contributions to India’s economic, social and cultural development, including in the country’s highest constitutional offices, government institutions, the armed forces, law enforcement agencies, the film industry and corporate sector.

Slamming Pakistan’s record in this regard, Puri said he was “hard-pressed” to find comparable examples from the neighbouring country.