India strongly criticised Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statements at the UN General Assembly, dismissing them as “absurd theatrics” and accusing Islamabad of glorifying terrorism and presenting a distorted version of the India-Pakistan conflict. Indian officials emphasized that no amount of rhetoric or drama could conceal the facts on issues like Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty, underlining India’s zero-tolerance approach to terrorism and nuclear threats.
The response came from Petal Gahlot, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, who delivered a forceful rebuttal soon after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s address.
“Mr President, this assembly witnessed absurd theatrics in the morning from the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who once again glorified terrorism that is so central to their foreign policy. However, no degree of drama and no level of lies can conceal the facts. This is the very same Pakistan which, at the UN Security Council on 25th April 2025, shielded the resistance front – a Pakistani-sponsored terror outfit from the responsibility of carrying out the barbaric massacre of tourists in the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” Gahlot said.
At the 80th session of the UNGA on Friday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed that India launched “unprovoked aggression” against his country earlier this year, referencing Operation Sindoor.
Calling Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s narrative on the recent India-Pakistan clashes “bizarre” and misleading, Petal Gahlot said that this is the very same Pakistan that sheltered Osama bin Laden for a decade, even while pretending to partner in the war against terrorism.
“This is the very same Pakistan which, at the UN Security Council on 25th April 2025, shielded the resistance front – a Pakistani-sponsored terror outfit from the responsibility of carrying out the barbaric massacre of tourists in the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Mr President, a country long steeped in the tradition of deploying and exporting terrorism has no shame in advancing the most ludicrous narratives to that end. Let us recall that it sheltered Osama bin Laden for a decade, even while pretending to partner in the war against terrorism, its ministers have just recently acknowledged that they have been operating terrorist camps for decades. It should come as no surprise that once again this duplicity continues, this time at the level of its Prime Minister,” Gahlot said.
Gahlot also held Pakistan responsible for terrorist attacks on Indian soil and emphasized India’s right to defend itself.
“The intervening event was the destruction caused to multiple Pakistani air bases by Indian forces. The pictures of that damage are, of course, publicly accessible. If destroyed runways and burnt-out hangars look like victory, as the Prime Minister claimed, Pakistan is welcome to enjoy it. The truth is that as in the past, Pakistan is responsible for a terrorist attack on innocent civilians in India. We have exercised the right to defend our people,” she said.
Responding to Sharif’s claims of pursuing peace with India, Gahlot stated that if Pakistan genuinely wants peace, it must first dismantle all terrorist camps and hand over the terrorists wanted in India.
