Army Is The Rule, Army Is The Law: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UN

India has criticised Pakistan at the United Nations over its remarks on the rule of law, accusing Islamabad of undermining judicial independence, restricting political opposition and curbing press freedom while lecturing other countries on democratic principles.

India exercised its Right of Reply on Friday during a discussion in the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee on the rule of law at national and international levels. Counsellor in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, R. Mythili, said Pakistan’s own record contradicted its claims.

“It is ironic to hear lectures on rule of law from a nation whose own record makes a mockery of it,” Mythili said, adding that Pakistan’s military effectively determines the rules at home.

She described Pakistan’s 26th Constitutional Amendment as a “real blow” to judicial independence, arguing that a country placing military rulers beyond the reach of courts could not lecture others on the rule of law.

Mythili also criticised the imprisonment of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, alleging that he had been arbitrarily jailed and denied medical treatment despite directions from Pakistan’s Supreme Court. She accused Islamabad of preventing a popular political party from contesting elections, trying civilians in military courts, pressuring Supreme Court judges and violating human rights.

“I say only one thing to my Pakistani colleague: Listen to your people,” she said.

India also rejected Pakistan’s allegations concerning religious minorities, describing them as a “tactical diversion” from Islamabad’s own record on minority rights. Mythili argued that the share of minorities in Pakistan’s population had declined since the country’s creation.

She raised concerns over Pakistan’s Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines, which require journalists to obtain a no-objection certificate for assignments outside Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.

“And in such a country, what can possibly be the state of the fourth pillar of democracy?” she asked, questioning the state of press freedom in Pakistan.

The remarks came amid renewed political tensions in Pakistan. On October 11, President Asif Ali Zardari declared emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, suspending the provincial government led by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Islamabad cited rising militant attacks, while PTI called the move a disguised coup and disputed the government’s justification.

Mythili also defended Operation Sindoor, launched in May 2025 following the Pahalgam terror attack. She described the strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as a “measured, proportionate, and focused response”.

She added that Pakistan’s repeated allegations against India would not absolve its leadership of its responsibilities towards its own people.