Pakistan should focus on economy instead of harbouring terrorists and bombing its own people: India at UN

India has said Pakistan should focus on building its economy and improving its human rights record instead of harbouring terrorists and bombing its own people, in an apparent reference to the killing of 24 people in an explosion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this week.

Kshitij Tyagi, Counsellor at India’s Permanent Mission in Geneva, also slammed the Pakistan delegation at the UN for abusing the forum with baseless and provocative statements against India.

“A delegation that epitomises the antithesis of this approach continues to abuse this forum with baseless and provocative statements against India,” Tyagi said on Tuesday while speaking at the 60th regular session of the UNHRC here.

Referring to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Tyagi asked Pakistan to vacate Indian territory “under their illegal occupation.” "Instead of coveting our territory, they would do well to vacate the Indian territory under their illegal occupation,” he added.

Without specifically naming the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa incident, Tyagi said Pakistan should instead focus on building its economy and improving its human rights record once it finds time from harbouring terrorists and bombing their own people.

“Focus on rescuing an economy on life support, a polity muzzled by military dominance, and a human rights record stained by persecution — perhaps once they find time away from exporting terrorism, harbouring UN-proscribed terrorists, and bombing their own people,” Tyagi added.

Ten civilians and 14 militants were killed when bomb-making materials stored at a compound owned by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group exploded on Monday in Tirah Valley’s Matur Dara area in Khyber district of the province, bordering Afghanistan.

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party's provincial branch and residents claimed that the "jet bombing" in the Tirah Valley caused the explosion. However, the local administration denied the claims about aerial strikes on the compound, saying the explosives used in bomb making exploded.