Calling Pakistan a 'puppet' regime, India strongly condemned the country's 'falsehoods' and 'deceit' at the United Nations, warning that Islamabad's ongoing support for terrorism will have repercussions.
India exercised its Right of Reply on Friday night after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking from the UN General Assembly podium, praised United States President Donald Trump for his 'timely intervention' in the 2025 conflict with India, while once again raising the Kashmir issue in his address to the global body.
Petal Gahlot, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, stated that they had listened to hypocritical lectures on democratic rights and human values from a regime whose capital is currently being reinforced against its own citizens.
She was referring to the 27th Constitutional Amendment, enacted in November last year under the Shehbaz Sharif administration, which provides Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, with lifelong protection from any legal proceedings.
"We are certain that this Assembly will see Pakistan and its policies as they truly are, rather than as its representative falsely portrays them. Repeating lies year after year does not turn them into truth. Pakistan’s involvement in terrorism, its dishonesty, and its double-dealing will bring no advantage either to itself or to the international community," she said.
In his speech, Sharif expressed gratitude to Trump for his 'firm and visionary leadership', stating that the American president's 'timely intervention' preserved hundreds of millions of lives in South Asia.
In his roughly 23-minute speech, Sharif brought up the Kashmir issue, asserting that a just and equitable resolution is necessary to ensure South Asia never again approaches the brink of a conflict like that of 2025.
India, addressing the UN General Assembly, pointed out that Sharif’s 'bizarre remarks' were made barely two weeks after New York City and the international community commemorated the 25th anniversary of the devastating 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"This context…is important to keep in mind because its mastermind, Osama Bin Laden, was living right on the doorstep of the Pakistani Army's premier academy," Gahlot said.
Criticizing Sharif for bringing up the Kashmir issue in his speech, Gahlot stated that the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is an essential and inseparable part of the nation.
"And will always remain so. But if we must talk about Kashmir, let us turn our attention to the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Ask the people of Rawalakot about the wanton killings, the brutal violence and the denial of basic rights that they have long experienced," she added.
The Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) region has been experiencing months-long demonstrations over 12 disputed refugee seats, prompting a security forces crackdown and accusations of electoral fraud in the recent polls to the so-called legislative assembly.
Criticising Pakistan for its 'longstanding practice' of cross-border terrorism, Gahlot said that India had shown last year that 'terrorists will have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide'.
On May 7 last year, India launched Operation Sindoor, aimed at dismantling terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that claimed the lives of 26 civilians.
"Our right to defend ourselves against terrorism will be exercised. And continued terrorism by Pakistan will have consequences. It will understandably call into question what were premised on friendship and goodwill," Gahlot said.
She claimed that the remarks delivered by Sharif at the UNGA originate from individuals known for a longstanding history of prejudice and hostility.
"This Assembly was subjected to remarks about religious intolerance from the very regime whose mainstay is blasphemy laws. The world knows how minorities are treated in Pakistan; no pious platitude can mislead it," she said.
