'Shallow, ill-informed': India hits back at Switzerland over minority remark
What's the story
India has hit back at Switzerland for its comments on the treatment of minorities in India. The Swiss delegation had called on India to do more to protect minority rights at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. Responding on India's behalf, Kshitij Tyagi, a Counsellor at India's Permanent Mission in Geneva, described the remarks as "surprising, shallow, and ill-informed."
Diplomatic exchange
Switzerland should focus on its own issues: India
Tyagi said, "As it (Switzerland) holds the UNHRC presidency, it is all the more important for Switzerland to avoid wasting the council's time with narratives that are blatantly false and do not do justice to the reality of India." He also suggested that Switzerland should focus on its own issues, such as racism and xenophobia. "As the world's largest, most diverse and vibrant democracy, with a civilizational embrace of pluralism, India remains ready to help Switzerland address these concerns."
Countering propaganda
India issues rebuttal to Pakistan's comments
On the same day, India also issued a strongly worded Right of Reply to Pakistan. Tyagi accused Pakistan of using the council for political propaganda and reiterated India's long-standing position that Pakistan sponsors cross-border terrorism. He referred to several terrorist attacks linked to groups based in Pakistan and reminded the council of Osama bin Laden's sheltering in Abbottabad until his death.
Statement
'Need no lessons from terror sponsor'
"We are compelled, once again, to address provocations from a country whose own leadership recently likened it to a 'dump truck,' perhaps an inadvertently apt metaphor for a state that continues to deposit recycled falsehoods and stale propaganda before this distinguished Council," Tyagi told the chamber. "We need no lessons from a terror sponsor, no sermons from a persecutor of minorities, and no advice from a state that has squandered its own credibility."