Post by : Rameen Ariff

India delivered a strong and direct response to Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council, firmly rejecting Islamabad’s repeated references to Jammu and Kashmir and criticising Pakistan’s internal political situation and record on terrorism.

Speaking during the Security Council open debate on “Leadership for Peace,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, reiterated that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India. He stressed that these regions were, are, and will always remain part of the country.

Ambassador Parvathaneni accused Pakistan of maintaining an obsessive focus on harming India and its people. He said Pakistan continues to misuse international platforms to raise issues that have already been settled and to divert attention from its own internal problems.

India also addressed the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, explaining that the decision was taken in the context of Pakistan’s long-standing support for cross-border terrorism. Parvathaneni said India had entered into the treaty 65 years ago in good faith and in a spirit of friendship. However, he noted that Pakistan violated the spirit of the agreement repeatedly by waging wars against India and sponsoring thousands of terror attacks over the decades.

Highlighting the human cost of terrorism, India said tens of thousands of Indian lives have been lost in Pakistan-sponsored attacks over the last four decades. The Indian envoy referred to the most recent terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year, where 26 civilians, including a foreign national, were killed.

India stated that it was in this backdrop that the government decided to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for terrorism in all forms. The Indian side described Pakistan as a global epicentre of terror and said continued violence made cooperation impossible.

Parvathaneni also launched a sharp critique of Pakistan’s democratic record. He referred to the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the banning of his political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and what he described as a constitutional coup. He said the 27th constitutional amendment was used to grant lifetime immunity to Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces, Asim Munir, undermining democratic principles.

India made it clear that it would continue to counter Pakistan-sponsored terrorism with full strength. The envoy said India remains firm in protecting its citizens and national security against threats originating across the border.

The strong remarks came in response to statements by Pakistan’s representative, who once again described Jammu and Kashmir as an unresolved dispute and criticised India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty. Pakistan claimed that peace in South Asia could not be achieved without addressing Kashmir and accused India of violating international obligations.

India rejected these claims outright, stating that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter and that Pakistan has no standing to question India’s sovereignty. The Indian delegation said Pakistan’s attempts to internationalise the issue were misleading and aimed at deflecting from its own failures.

The exchange highlighted the deep diplomatic divide between India and Pakistan at the United Nations, with India firmly asserting its position on Kashmir, terrorism, and regional peace.

#Global News