Absurd theatrics, glorifying terrorism: India slams Pak PM over his UN speech
By R Anil Kumar
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India sharply rebuked Pakistan at the UN after PM Shehbaz Sharif reiterated Islamabad’s stance on Kashmir during his address to the General Debate of the 80th UNGA
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India charges Pakistan of glorifying terrorism, distorting facts about India-Pakistan conflict
New York. India on Saturday, 27 September, slammed Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his remarks on Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty, accusing Islamabad of glorifying terrorism and engaging in “absurd theatrics”.
India hit back at Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s UNGA speech, mocking his “victory” claim in the May 7-10 conflict and blasting Islamabad for glorifying terrorism.
India ridiculed Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s claim of “victory” in the May 7-10 conflict, telling the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that images of destroyed air bases and damaged military infrastructure during Operation Sindoor painted a very different picture.
Exercising India’s right of reply at the 80th UNGA session, Petal Gahlot, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, said the evidence was plain for the world to see.
“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,” Gahlot said.
Sharif had used his UNGA speech to portray Pakistan as the winner in the brief military escalation with India in May. “We have won the war, and now we seek to win peace in our part of the world. Pakistan, stands ready for a composite, comprehensive, and result-oriented dialogue with India on all outstanding issues,” he claimed.
However, Gahlot dismissed Sharif’s version outright and said the sequence of events pointed to a very different reality.
“The Prime Minister of Pakistan also advanced a bizarre account of the recent conflict with India. The record on this matter is clear. Till May 9, Pakistan was threatening more attacks on India. But on May 10, its military pleaded with us directly for a cessation to the fighting,” she stressed.
She added that Pakistan was once again responsible for a terrorist attack on Indian civilians and that New Delhi had acted decisively to defend its people.
“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 against such actions and have brought the organisers and perpetrators to justice,” Gahlot said.
PICTURES OF DEAD TERRORISTS
Gahlot went further, citing photographic evidence of India’s strikes on Pakistani terror hubs during Operation Sindoor.
“A picture speaks a thousand words and we saw many pictures of terrorists slain in Bahawalpur and Muridke terror complexes by Indian forces during Operation Sindoor. When senior Pakistani military and civilian officials publicly glorify and pay homage to such notorious terrorists, can there be any doubt about the proclivities of this regime?” she said.
‘ABSURD THEATRICS AT UNGA’
Sharif also used his UNGA speech to raise Kashmir and portray Pakistan as the victor in the May escalation. India hit back, calling his remarks “absurd theatrics”.
“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,” Gahlot said.
She reminded delegates that on April 25, Pakistan shielded The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-sponsored outfit, from accountability for the massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam just days earlier.
INDIA’S DEMAND FOR ACTION
While Sharif had spoken about peace, Gahlot said the “pathway is clear” only if Pakistan dismantles its terror infrastructure.
“The Pakistani Prime Minister has spoken about wanting peace with India. If he is indeed sincere, the pathway is clear. Pakistan must immediately shut down all terrorist camps and hand over to us the terrorists wanted in India,” she said.
She also called it ironic that a country “wallowing in hate, bigotry and intolerance” should attempt to lecture the UNGA on matters of faith. “It is ironic that a country which wallows in hate, bigotry and intolerance should preach to this Assembly on matters of faith. The political and public discourse of Pakistan reflects its true nature. Clearly, a look by them in the mirror is long overdue.”
NO THIRD-PARTY MEDIATION
Besides, India reiterated that there is no scope for third-party involvement in matters between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Reiterating India’s position, Gahlot said, “India and Pakistan have long agreed that any outstanding issue between them will be addressed bilaterally. There is no room for any third party in that regard. This is our longstanding national position.”
Sharif, however, had claimed that Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire from a “position of strength”, crediting it to US President Donald Trump’s “bold and visionary leadership” and thanking him and his team for “their active role in bringing about the ceasefire.”
India has consistently maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities was reached through direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two militaries.
ABOUT OPERATION SINDOOR
India’s sharp rebuttal at the UNGA comes against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
At the time, the Indian armed forces had publicly released high-resolution satellite images and videos showing extensive damage to Pakistan’s military infrastructure.
The images offered before-and-after views of key sites, including terror complexes in Muridke and Bahawalpur, as well as strikes that crippled air defence radars and airfields.
Addressing a press conference in May, Air Marshal AK Bharti, Director General of Air Operations, displayed visuals of the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi engulfed in flames following a massive explosion, and footage of the Rahim Yar Khan airbase runway rendered unusable after missile strikes.
He also detailed precision hits on radar installations, ammunition depots, and command-and-control centres across Pakistani territory, including near Karachi’s Malir Cantonment.
Operation Sindoor destroyed multiple terror camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen, killing more than 100 terrorists.
Gahlot reminded the assembly that Pakistan had shielded a “Pakistani-sponsored terror outfit” earlier this year at the UN Security Council after the massacre of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir. “This is the very same Pakistan which, at the UN Security Council on April 25, 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,” she said.
The Indian diplomat also cited Pakistan’s record of harbouring extremists. “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.
KASHMIR ISSUE RAISED
As Pakistan has done every year, Sharif raised the issue of Kashmir in his address. “I wish to assure Kashmiri people that I stand with them, Pakistan stands with them, and one day soon India’s tyranny in Kashmir will come to a halt,” he declared.
He further said Pakistan supports Kashmir’s “fundamental right to self-determination through an impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.”
Sharif also claimed Pakistan condemns terrorism “in all its forms and manifestations” and accused foreign-backed groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Balochistan Liberation Army of targeting his country. He added that “there must be no space for hate speech, discrimination or violence against any person, or against any religion.”
India has dismissed these remarks as attempts to mask Pakistan’s role in fuelling cross-border terrorism.
PAKISTAN’S CLAIMS ON INDUS WATERS TREATY
Sharif also accused India of breaching international law by holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the April Pahalgam terror attack. “To us, any violation of this Indus Treaty represents an act of war,” he told the Assembly.
India suspended participation in the World Bank-brokered agreement, signed in 1960, after 26 civilians were killed in the Pahalgam attack. New Delhi has linked the move directly to Pakistan’s continued support for terrorism and has made clear that the treaty will only be reinstated if Islamabad takes verifiable steps to end cross-border violence.
Shehbaz Sharif raked up the Kashmir issue and accused India of violating the Indus Waters Treaty, saying it was a breach of international law.
INDIA SAYS
Indian diplomat Petal Gahlot slammed Sharif for his speech at the UN General Assembly, calling it absurd theatrics and aimed at glorifying terrorism.
