India rejected Pakistan’s claims at a United Nations Security Council debate on women, peace and security. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, said Pakistan’s accusations—especially concerning Jammu and Kashmir—are part of a “delusional tirade.”

During her address, Pakistan’s counsellor Saima Saleem accused India of structural impunity in Kashmir, alleging long-standing abuses including sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, harassment of women human rights defenders, and reprisals against relatives of missing persons.  She urged that reports under the Women, Peace and Security agenda should include the “plight” of Kashmiri women.

India countered by recalling Pakistan’s 1971 “Operation Searchlight,” a campaign that involved mass killings and rapes in what was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Harish accused Islamabad of using “hyperbole” and “misdirecting the world,” stressing that the international community sees through such propaganda.