Petal Gahlot, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN.
Credit: YouTube/United Nations
India strongly criticised Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), accusing Islamabad of spreading falsehoods and glorifying terrorism.
Exercising India’s right of reply, Petal Gahlot, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, delivered a pointed rebuttal. She said, “This Assembly witnessed absurd theatrics from the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who once again glorified terrorism, the very core of their foreign policy. No level of drama or deception can hide the truth.”
In his UNGA address, Sharif claimed that “seven Indian jets” were damaged during Operation Sindoor in May. However, Indian Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh had earlier clarified that India downed five Pakistani fighter jets and a large aircraft during the conflict, while also dismantling terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26.
Gahlot further reminded the UN that Pakistan recently shielded The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-sponsored terror group, from accountability for the brutal massacre of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir.
“When Pakistan’s leaders publicly glorify notorious terrorists and honour them, it leaves little doubt about their mindset,” she said. She also noted that Pakistan, which once sheltered Osama Bin Laden, continues to operate terror camps while claiming to fight extremism.
Countering Sharif’s portrayal of events, Gahlot stated that Pakistan was threatening more strikes until May 9, but on May 10, its military directly pleaded with India for a ceasefire.
Accusing India, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, addressing the United Nations General Assembly, said on Friday, “South Asia requires proactive rather than provocative leadership. India’s unilateral and illegal attempt to hold the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance defies the provisions of the treaty itself as well as the norms of international law.”
“We will definitely and ardently defend the inseparable right of our 240 million people on these waters. To us, any violation of this Indus Water Treaty represents an act of war.”
Following this, Sharif, in his speech, praised US President Donald Trump for helping “avert war in South Asia” and disclosed that Pakistan nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. He also criticized India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam attack, calling it an “act of war”. As in past years, he raised the Kashmir issue, insisting on a UN-supervised plebiscite.
Sharif additionally accused India of sponsoring terrorism inside Pakistan through groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Balochistan Liberation Army, while simultaneously asserting that Pakistan “condemns terrorism in all forms.”
Adding more, Sharif told the UNGA, “India sought to extract political gains from a human tragedy by spurning my sincere offer of an independent international investigation into the Pahalgam incident. Instead, it attacked our cities and targeted our innocent citizens. When our territorial integrity and national security were violated, our response was in accordance with the right of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.”
India, however, maintained that its peace efforts are rooted in facts, while Pakistan continues to peddle duplicity on the global stage.