India told the UN Security Council that Operation Sindoor was a measured response to terrorism, rejected Pakistan’s claims, and said Islamabad has no standing on Kashmir.
File image: (L-R) DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, Air Marshal AK Bharti and Vice Admiral AN Pramod during the press conference on 'Operation Sindoor', in New Delhi. | ANI Photo
India on Monday firmly rejected Pakistan’s remarks on Operation Sindoor at the United Nations Security Council, calling them misleading and politically motivated. New Delhi said Islamabad has no standing to comment on India’s internal matters, particularly Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking during an open debate at the Security Council, India’s Permanent Representative Harish Parvathaneni said Pakistan was using the forum to push a narrow agenda against India rather than engage with the issue under discussion, which was the international rule of law.
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He described Pakistan’s account of Operation Sindoor as “false and self-serving” and said the facts surrounding India’s actions were clear and well documented.
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During the UNSC open debate on ‘Reaffirming international rule of law’, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad had raised Operation Sindoor, describing it as an “unprovoked military aggression”. He had also mentioned the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and his version of the situation in Kashmir.
Ambassador Parvathaneni recalled the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, where 26 civilians were killed by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. The attack, he noted, was condemned by the Security Council itself.
“This august body itself called for holding the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and brought to justice. That is exactly what we did,” he said.
India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7. The operation targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It was described by India as a limited, retaliatory response aimed only at dismantling terror infrastructure.
India’s envoy stressed that the operation was “measured, non-escalatory and responsible”.
He added that Pakistan continued to issue threats until May 9. The following day, he said, the Pakistani military reached out directly to Indian authorities.
“Till May 9, Pakistan was threatening more attacks on India, but on May 10, the Pakistani military called our military directly and pleaded for a cessation to the fighting,” he said.
According to India, the impact of the operation was visible.
“The destruction caused to multiple Pakistani airbases by the Indian operation, including images of destroyed runways and burnt-out hangars, are in the public domain,” Parvathaneni told the Council.
Responding to Pakistan’s reference to a “new normal”, he said terrorism could never be normalised.
“It is not normal to tolerate Pakistan’s continued use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy,” he said, warning that the Security Council must not become a platform to legitimise terror.
“We will do whatever required to protect and ensure the safety and security of our citizens,” he added.
The Indian envoy also dismissed Pakistan’s remarks on Jammu and Kashmir.
“The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” he said, asserting that Pakistan has no locus standi on the issue.
On the Indus Waters Treaty, Parvathaneni said India had entered the agreement in good faith 65 years ago. He said Pakistan had repeatedly undermined its spirit through wars and sustained cross-border terrorism.
India, he said, was compelled to place the treaty in abeyance until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ends its support for terrorism.
Turning the focus back on the rule of law, Parvathaneni advised Pakistan to introspect on its own constitutional practices.
“Pakistan is well advised to introspect about the rule of law. It could start by asking itself how it has let its armed forces engineer a constitutional coup through the 27th amendment and giving life-time immunity to its Chief of Defence Forces,” he said.
He concluded by stressing that strengthening the international rule of law and reforming multilateral institutions remain critical for global peace.
“India would like to reiterate that strengthening the international rule of law framework and reforming multilateralism are a strategic necessity for the United Nations to effectively discharge its responsibilities,” he said.
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