India Counters Pakistan at the UN, Claims the Army Controls Law and Justice in Islamabad

When the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly opened its discussion on the "Rule of Law at National and International Levels," a familiar diplomatic showdown unfolded. India’s counsellor Mythili R, speaking for the Permanent Mission in New York, took a moment to push back against Pakistan’s earlier statements on minority rights.

"Pakistan lectures us about the rule of law," she said, a hint of exasperation in her tone. "Yet at home the army is the rule, and the army is the law. Judicial independence is a slogan, civilians are tried in military courts, and political opposition is squeezed out of the picture." The remark was posted on India’s official UN Twitter handle, where it quickly drew attention.

Mythili R didn’t stop at a broad critique. She pointed to the shrinking share of religious minorities in Pakistan, noting that the community’s numbers have been “constantly decreasing since the country’s birth.” She also referenced the newly‑released Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines, which require foreign journalists to obtain a No‑Objection Certificate before reporting from cities like Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi – a move she described as further evidence of a constrained press.

In a slightly longer aside, the Indian diplomat warned that Pakistan’s own record on freedom of expression and minority protection is far from spotless. "The rule of law obliges those in power to act for the benefit of the people they govern," she reminded, "but in Pakistan that promise is broken again and again." She turned the tables, suggesting that it is Pakistan, not India, that is obsessed with the latter.

India also highlighted its measured response to the Pahalgam terror attack last year, which claimed 26 innocent lives. Referring to the operation – dubbed "Operation Sindoor" – she said the strike was proportionate and targeted, and urged Pakistan to stop repeating “the same laundry list of false allegations.”

Later, in a separate intervention on the First Committee, India’s First Secretary Anmol Sher Singh Bedi echoed a similar theme. He stressed that India’s military posture is purely defensive and warned against treating nuclear weapons as routine tools of statecraft. "Any terrorist attack on India will receive a fitting response," he asserted, adding that New Delhi will not bow to nuclear blackmail.

Both statements, while diplomatic, carried a clear message: Pakistan’s complaints about India’s handling of minorities and media freedom will not be accepted at face value, especially when Pakistan’s own institutions are, in the words of the Indian envoy, subservient to the army.

As the UN session continues, the back‑and‑forth between the two neighbours serves as a reminder that the rule of law remains a contested concept in South Asia, with each side eager to portray the other as the laggard.