India has criticized Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for its long history of violence against civilians, citing recent incidents in Afghanistan linked to the actions of the Pakistani military. During the Annual UNSC Open Debate on the ‘Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict,’ India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Harish Parvathaneni, highlighted findings from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which reported civilian casualties from cross-border violence.
“It is ironic that Pakistan, with its long-tainted record of genocidal acts, has chosen to refer to issues that are strictly internal to India,” Parvathaneni stated. He noted that UNAMA documented 750 civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan during the first three months of 2026 due to cross-border armed violence attributed to Pakistani military operations, primarily from air strikes.
Parvathaneni further claimed that Pakistan conducted an airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul during Ramadan. “The UNAMA documentation attributed 94 of 95 incidents of civilian casualties to Pakistani security forces. This cowardly and unconscionable act of violence claimed the lives of 269 civilians and injured 122 in a facility that cannot be justified as a military target,” he said.
The Indian envoy accused Pakistan of violating international humanitarian obligations and deliberately targeting civilians. “It is hypocritical to espouse high principles of international law while targeting innocent civilians in the dark,” he remarked, adding that the air strikes occurred soon after tarawih evening prayers, when many patients were leaving the mosque.
Referencing earlier remarks by the UN Secretary-General regarding the protection of civilians, Parvathaneni noted that Pakistan has disregarded these appeals. “The Secretary-General called on member states to uphold their international obligations in relation to the protection of civilians, including the principle of non-refoulement in the context of Afghanistan,” he said, emphasizing that Pakistan ignored this call.
India also expressed concerns over cross-border terrorism and the displacement of civilians. According to UNAMA, more than 94,000 people were assessed as displaced due to armed violence perpetrated by Pakistan against Afghan civilians. “Such heinous acts of aggression should not come as a surprise from a country that bombs its own people and conducts systematic genocide,” he stated.
In his remarks, Parvathaneni referenced Pakistan’s actions during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, where he claimed that Operation Searchlight resulted in the mass rape of 400,000 women by the Pakistani army. “Such inhuman conduct reflects Pakistan’s repeated attempts over decades to externalize internal failures through increasingly desperate acts of violence,” he said.
Concluding his address, the Indian envoy asserted that the protection of civilians should be central to the Security Council’s efforts in maintaining international peace and security. “The international community must work collectively to restore respect for international humanitarian law, strengthen accountability, ensure humanitarian access, and protect medical care, thereby alleviating the suffering of civilians affected by armed conflict,” he stated.
