India on Tuesday firmly dismissed the “baseless observations” made by a UN expert on Myanmar, who claimed that refugees from the country were facing “intense pressure” after the Pahalgam terror incident. Delhi has criticised this assessment as “biased and narrow-minded.”
Indian MP rebukes UN special rapporteur
Member of Parliament Dilip Saikia, who represented India at the interactive dialogue in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, strongly rebuked the observations made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, in his report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.
“I express serious objection to the baseless and biased observations in the report regarding my country. I strongly denounce the biased approach adopted by the Special Rapporteur of the innocent civilian victims of the April 2025 terrorist attack in Pahalgam through a biased communal lens,” Saikia said.
UN report claims Refugees under pressure
Andrews, in his report, claimed that refugees from Myanmar were under ‘severe pressure’ after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir even though no person from Myanmar was involved in the incident.
“Refugees in India told the Special Rapporteur that they have been summoned, detained, interrogated, and threatened with deportation by Indian authorities in recent months,” the report said.
Saikia said the allegations had no factual standing and it was just a ‘blinkered analysis’ by the Special Rapporteur.
“I would urge the SR (Special Rapporteur) not to depend upon unverified and skewed media reports whose sole purpose appears to be maligning my country where people of all faiths live, including more than 200 million Muslims, which is about 10 per cent of the world’s Muslim population,” Saikia said.
Saikia reaffirmed India’s support for a Myanmar-led peace process, emphasising the need for inclusive political dialogue, an end to violence, release of political prisoners and restoration of democracy through credible elections.
Highlighting security and humanitarian concerns with cross-border implications, Saikia stressed a people-centric approach, citing relief efforts like Operation Brahma after the March 2025 earthquake and prior initiatives during natural disasters.
The report also noted India’s detention and deportation of Rohingya refugees to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Bangladesh, prompting inquiries from the UN Special Rapporteur, who awaits India’s response on these actions.
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