United Nations, October 21 India launched a strong counterattack against Pakistan at the United Nations on Monday, describing it as “the fountainhead of terror, violence, bigotry, intolerance, and extremism” and calling on Islamabad to end the “grave and ongoing human rights violations” in the part of Jammu and Kashmir that it has “illegally occupied.”

Speaking at the UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee, which deals with decolonisation issues, N.K. Premachandran, Member of Parliament from Kerala representing the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism and oppressing the people living under its control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“Pakistan is the fountainhead of terror, violence, bigotry, intolerance and extremism,” Premachandran said. “As recently as April this year, terrorists trained and sponsored by Pakistan murdered 26 innocent civilians in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.”

He alleged that Pakistan continues to occupy parts of Jammu and Kashmir in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 47, adopted in 1948, and has been brutally suppressing local dissent.

Premachandran noted that protests against Islamabad’s misrule in PoK have been met with deadly force. “In the last few weeks alone, the occupying Pakistani forces and their proxies have killed many innocent civilians who were agitating for their basic rights and freedoms. More than 12 people were killed by Pakistan forces who put down a protest against exploitation and malfeasance,” he said.

The Indian statement came in response to Pakistan’s earlier remarks at the same UN committee, which New Delhi said were irrelevant to the panel’s agenda.

He further criticised Pakistan’s political instability, saying, “A country like Pakistan, with an established record of military dictatorships, sham elections, incarceration of popular elected leaders, religious extremism, and state-sponsored terrorism, should in future refrain from preaching homilies at this platform.”

Reiterating India’s firm stance on Jammu and Kashmir, Premachandran declared, “Jammu and Kashmir is, and will always remain, an integral and inalienable part of India.”

Highlighting India’s historic role in global decolonisation efforts, the MP reminded the committee that India had chaired the UN Decolonisation Committee when it was established. “Since the creation of the United Nations, more than 80 former colonies have broken free from the shackles of colonialism and gained independence,” he said. “However, the process remains unfinished — there are still 17 territories under the yoke of colonialism.”

Premachandran concluded by reaffirming India’s commitment to supporting decolonisation efforts worldwide while urging Pakistan to “end its hypocrisy and cease exploiting the people” of the territories it occupies illegally.