NEW YORK (Dunya News) – Pakistan has been fighting a war against terrorism that is sponsored by India.
This was stated by Pakistan diplomat Mohammad Rashid in response to the Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s tirade at the UN General Assembly.
In his right of reply at the General Assembly, Rashid said that the Indian minister once again made a failed attempt to malign Pakistan by accusing it of involvement in terrorism. He pointed out that the world acknowledges Pakistan’s sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, with over 90,000 lives lost.
He stated that "India is a sponsor of terrorists, fuelling hatred, division, and prejudice in the region. India is operating a cross-border terrorist network, using proxy elements to carry out terrorist activities within Pakistan."
Pakistan, he emphasized, is a peace-loving nation and is actively fighting terrorism.
Rejecting allegations, Rashid held India responsible for promoting terrorism, human rights violations, and state oppression in the region. He also exposed India's role with concrete evidence — from the situation in Kashmir to the arrest of Kulbhushan Jadhav.
“Today we heard the same old speeches from a member state — predictable, full of lies and misleading claims, entirely devoid of facts. The false accusations made by our neighbour about terrorism are nothing more than an attempt to repeat lies in the hope that they might be accepted as truth. The reality is exactly the opposite,” Pakistani diplomat added.
He said that “India is among those countries that illegally occupy territories, oppress people, and violate basic human rights. The most glaring example is Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where state terrorism is routine — including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, fake encounters, and collective punishments, all under the guise of counterterrorism.”
He stated that the country operates a covert, cross-border terrorist network, and conducts operations inside and outside Pakistan through proxy agents. A living example is the arrest of serving Indian naval officer and RAW agent Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was caught red-handed involved in terrorism and sabotage within Pakistan.
Rashid noted the baseless and incomprehensible claims made regarding the Pahalgam incident, saying: “It has become a scripted practice to immediately blame Pakistan for any incident, without any evidence, reasoning, or investigation. As a responsible state, Pakistan condemned the Pahalgam incident along with other Security Council members, and even offered an independent and transparent investigation, which was instantly rejected. Unsurprisingly, no evidence has ever been presented about the incident.”
Under the pretext of this incident, India committed open aggression against Pakistan from May 7 to 10, in a serious violation of international law, resulting in the martyrdom of 54 innocent civilians, including 15 children and 13 women, he continued.
“In exercising our right to self-defense, we responded robustly but carefully — targeting only specific objectives.”
Addressing the President of the General Assembly, the Pakistani diplomat warned: “India’s behaviour sets a dangerous precedent for international law. This is a model adopted by countries that wish to violate global norms, carry out cross-border killings, intimidate neighbours, and commit open aggression. Such illegal and irresponsible conduct must not be ignored by the international community.”
He emphasized that Pakistan desires peace, and the 1.9 billion people of South Asia — a quarter of the world’s population — deserve prosperity and stability, which cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of threats and fear.
“Genuine progress requires sincerity, mutual respect, dialogue, and diplomacy — principles that Pakistan has always upheld. India, too, will eventually have to choose this path — if it truly desires peace,” Rashid concluded.