External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, delivering India’s national statement at the UN General Assembly, said India would exercise its right to defend itself against terrorism and called for no dilution of the global zero-tolerance approach.
Responding to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s UNGA speech, in which he criticised India’s Operation Sindoor and raised the Kashmir issue, Jaishankar accused a “serial practitioner of terrorism” of misrepresenting facts and attempting to normalise terrorism. He also highlighted the impact of ongoing conflicts on the Global South.
Jaishankar said India would exercise its “right to defend ourselves against terrorism” and called for accountability for governments involved in cross-border terrorism.
Responding to Sharif’s criticism of India’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, he said friendship and goodwill could not coexist with terrorism.
Indian and Pakistani diplomats also exchanged sharp remarks as India exercised its right to reply to Sharif’s UNGA speech.
Jaishankar said conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia were affecting countries far from the fighting through disruptions to food, fuel, fertilisers and finance.
He called attacks on seafarers “completely unacceptable”, noting that 18 Indians had been killed, and reiterated India’s support for a two-state solution in Gaza and continued humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
He also called for a more representative UN system and a reformed Security Council, saying a multipolar world was emerging. It was his fifth National Statement at the UNGA, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipping this year’s session.
