India accuses Pakistan of civilian casualties in Afghanistan at UN Security Council

India strongly criticized Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, accusing it of causing civilian casualties in Afghanistan and invoking historical allegations of violence against its own population. The remarks came during the annual open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, held under China’s presidency of the Council for May.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, spoke after Pakistan’s envoy, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. Parvathaneni said it was ironic that Pakistan, with what he described as a long record of genocidal acts, had chosen to comment on matters he characterized as strictly internal to India.

Parvathaneni cited estimates from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), stating that 750 civilian deaths and injuries were documented in Afghanistan during the first three months of 2026 due to cross-border armed violence by Pakistani military forces, predominantly from airstrikes. He said UNAMA attributed 94 of 95 incidents involving civilian casualties to Pakistani security forces.

The Indian envoy specifically referenced an...