“India Has Right To Defend Itself
New York| Sept, 26: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivered a blistering takedown of Pakistan at the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), dismantling Islamabad’s victim narrative and reinforcing New Delhi’s zero-tolerance policy on cross-border terrorism.
Targeting Pakistan’s state-sponsored terror networks, Jaishankar pushed back against nations that harbor extremists. “Yesterday, a serial practitioner of terrorism misrepresented facts before this assembly. Arguments were invoked to normalise terrorism and claim immunity from its consequences. That will not stand. Our right to defend ourselves against terrorism will be exercised. Friendship and goodwill cannot coexist with terrorism, and understandings premised on that will naturally be called into question. It is for the perpetrator of terrorism to mend its ways…”
He urged the global community to actively dismantle state-backed syndicates and their funding networks, emphasizing, “A persistent threat to peace has been the scourge of terrorism. That this could be state-sponsored, with cross-border purpose, makes it a direct affront to the global order. Governments indulging in such practices must be held accountable. There must be no dilution in our zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism. Its financial aspects, in particular, should be exposed and should be countered…”
The diplomatic offensive continued as Indian diplomat Petal Gahlot exercised India’s right of reply against Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Sharif had previously used the platform to rake up the Kashmir issue and credit US President Donald Trump for intervening in the 2025 conflict.
Dismissing Sharif’s remarks as “bizarre”, Gahlot dismantled Islamabad’s “hypocritical homilies” and reminded the Assembly of Pakistan’s track record of harboring high-profile terrorists.
“The US just observed the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Its mastermind was living at the doorstep of Pakistan’s Army’s premier academy,” she noted. She further exposed Islamabad’s double standards on security, asserting that Pakistan “claims to uphold security by day and perpetrates terrorism by night.”
Referencing India’s May 2025 Operation Sindoor—a retaliatory strike on terror camps across Pakistan and PoK following the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians—Gahlot delivered a stern warning.
“We demonstrated last year that terrorists will have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Our right to defend ourselves against terrorism will be exercised. And continued terrorism by Pakistan will have consequences,” she said.
Firmly rejecting any third-party mediation, India closed by urging the UN Assembly “to recognise Pakistan and its policies for what they are, not what its representatives mendaciously present.”
