India on Tuesday asserted at the UN that it has “every right” to defend itself against cross-border terrorism and warned Pakistan that there would be “consequences” for sponsoring such acts.
Responding sharply to Pakistan at a UN Security Council meeting, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, said New Delhi was compelled to counter “baseless and unwarranted remarks” made by Islamabad and “set the facts straight.”
“Independent India began its life battling cross-border aggression by Pakistan, which coveted Indian territories that had become part of India through complete, legal and irrevocable accession,” Parvathaneni said during the UNSC debate on ‘Upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and strengthening the UN-centred international system.’
The meeting, chaired by China under its May presidency of the 15-member Council, was presided over by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Parvathaneni’s remarks came after Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and referred to the Indus Waters Treaty, which India put in abeyance following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, had claimed responsibility for the attack.
Slamming Pakistan’s record, Parvathaneni said its use of cross-border terrorism and doctrine of “bleeding India by a thousand cuts” exposed the hollowness of its stated commitment to the UN Charter.
“India has every right to defend itself from such cross-border terrorism. Pakistan will have to accept that there are consequences to its sponsorship of cross-border terrorism,” he said.
He added that Pakistan, through wars, unprovoked aggression and continued support for cross-border terrorism, had repeatedly violated the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful coexistence.
“Pakistan’s harnessing of terrorism, religious extremism, violent radicalism and anti-India rhetoric has continued unabated since its creation. The facts are on public record. Pakistan must credibly and irrevocably end its support for all forms of terrorism,” India said.
(With inputs from PTI)
