New Delhi: At the 5th Meeting of the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Indian diplomat Kshitij Tyagi slammed Switzerland for its criticism of India. Switzerland had urged New Delhi to “take effective measures to protect the minorities and uphold the rights to the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media.” Responding the next day, Tyagi described those observations as “surprising, shallow and ill-informed remarks.”
He added, “As it 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.”
The Indian diplomat called on Switzerland to focus on its own domestic challenges, pointing to “racism, systematic discrimination and xenophobia.” He further said, “As the world's largest, most diverse and vibrant democracy, with a civilisational embrace of pluralism, India remains ready to help Switzerland address these concerns.”
Strong words for Pakistan
Tyagi also delivered a pointed response to Pakistan, describing it as a “dump truck” of recycled lies and a failed state “surviving on instability and handouts.”
He underlined that India’s recent actions in Pahalgam had already conveyed its stance. “Our measured and proportionate response to the Pahalgam attack made that sufficiently clear. We need no lessons from a terror sponsor, no sermons from a persecutor of minorities, no advice from a state that has conjured its own credibility. India will continue to protect its citizens with unwavering resolve. We will defend our sovereignty without compromise,” he said.
This is not the first time Tyagi has delivered such remarks at the UN. In February, during the 58th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, he had called Pakistan a “failed state” dependent on “international handouts.” On that occasion, he noted, “It is regrettable to see Pakistan’s so-called leaders and delegates continuing to dutifully spread falsehoods handed down by its military terrorist complex,” dismissing Islamabad’s claims on Jammu and Kashmir as “baseless and malicious.”
