Bhavika Mangalanandan, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, raised these concerns during an interactive dialogue with the special rapporteur on ‘Freedom of Religion and Belief’, which addressed funeral rights in exceptional circumstances. Along with other senior Indian diplomats, she presented facts about Pakistan’s refusal to accept the bodies of its soldiers killed in action during the Kargil War in 1999.
“It’s deeply ironic that a state that did not even accept the bodies of its own soldiers who were killed in combat in 1999 in Kargil unabashedly speaks with fervour on faith, religious freedom and burials. Let me remind them, it was the Indian Army who buried a number of Pakistani soldiers with military honours and in accordance with Islamic rites,” Mangalanandan said.
She highlighted the absence of several relevant facts from the special rapporteur’s report, questioning the basis on which the issues had been presented. Special rapporteurs are not paid directly by the UN and are expected to work independently of the organisation.
Mangalanandan also criticised Pakistan’s repeated focus on developments in India’s Jammu and Kashmir, arguing that the country should instead examine the situation in territories under its illegal occupation.
“Pakistan’s deep obsession with what is happening in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir should be actually directed at the developments that are underway in the parts of Jammu and Kashmir under its illegal occupation, such as Rawalakot. In Pakistan, a number of minorities are shrinking, their rights regularly abused. A state that cannot ensure the safety of its own minorities has no standing to lecture India,” she said.
Earlier this week, India had also flagged what it described as glaring factual inaccuracies in a report by a UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights. India called for accountability over the presentation of false claims that could harm the global body.
Raghoo Puri, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, challenged what India viewed as selective omissions in the narrative concerning terrorism and its links to Pakistan. He referred to Dawood Ibrahim, who fled India before being listed by the UN in 2003 for his association with al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.
“This individual [Dawood Ibrahim] fled India much before the 2003 listing, and it was during this period from an outsider country that he was listed for being associated with al-Qaeda and with Osama Bin Laden,” Puri said, in a reference to Pakistan.
“To date, he remains a wanted criminal in my country, and as per the UN’s listing entry, resides in the same country where Osama Bin Laden was found and neutralised,” Puri said, pointing to Pakistan’s garrison city of Abbottabad, where Osama bin Laden was found living.
India also questioned the special rapporteur’s treatment of discrimination and funeral rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mangalanandan argued that the report focused on incidents in the Global South while failing to mention comparable tragic situations in the developed world.
“Chair, as per the report, all discrimination and wrong practices during COVID-19 supposedly took place only in the Global South. What benefit does the report derive by not mentioning similar tragic situations in the developed world?” she said.
She added that using people’s suffering and loss for political advantage should not form the basis of a special rapporteur’s relevance.
Mangalanandan also challenged the report’s approach to funeral rights for terrorists, arguing that restrictions imposed by states must be assessed within the framework of sovereign rights and legal principles.
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#IndiaAtUN Bhavika Mangalanandan, First Secretary, took part in the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief on the topic of funeral rights in-exceptional circumstances. She made the following observations: ➡️ Report attributes all wrong practices during COVID-19 only to the Global South, turning a blind eye to similar tragic situations in the developed world. ➡️ Fervent advocacy made for rights of terrorists who violate the most sacred human right - the right to life! ➡️ Deeply ironic that a State that did not even accept the bodies of its own soldiers who were killed in combat in 1999 in Kargil, unabashedly speaks with fervor on faith, religious freedom and burial rights. ➡️ Reminded delegate of Pakistan that it was the Indian Army who buried a number of Pakistani soldiers with military honours and in accordance with Islamic rites. ➡️ Advised that Pakistan’s deep obsession with the Indian Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir should be directed at the developments underway in the parts of Jammu & Kashmir under its illegal occupation, such as Rawalakot. @PMOIndia @MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @airnewsalerts @DDNewslive @PIB_India @UN
— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) October 22, 2026
“Burial rights for terrorists are being justified by indicating that states may restrict funeral rights of terrorists, but only within legal limits. Legal limits should be determined in accordance with the principles of sovereign rights.
“A terrorist not only kills innocent people, but damages the psyche of a nation. It’s a surprise that the fervent advocacy for the rights of terrorists who violate the most sacred right of humans, the right to life, does not similarly extend to the victims of terrorism.
“The report goes back half a decade to find references to my country. It fails when it comes to grave violations committed recently in our region and in the developed world,” Mangalanandan said.
India’s interventions at the UN focused on what its diplomats described as inconsistencies in the treatment of terrorism, religious freedom, minority rights and funeral practices. By citing the 1999 Kargil War, Dawood Ibrahim’s UN listing and omissions in reports concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian representatives challenged the credibility and scope of the reports while reiterating their objections to Pakistan’s comments on Jammu and Kashmir.
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