The relationship between Pakistan and India has been historically strained, leading to four wars since their independence. Earlier this year, a brief but intense military flare-up occurred after India executed air strikes within Pakistan following the Pehlgham attack in occupied Kashmir, which resulted in over two dozen deaths. Pakistan denied any involvement, and the crisis was eventually eased by US intervention. Since then, ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours have become exceptionally acrimonious.
The verbal conflict unfolded during the fifth day (Sept. 27) of the 80th UNGA session in New York, where the diplomatic exchanges were notably heated despite the absence of the typical prime ministerial face-off. The most aggressive accusations came during the Right of Reply segment, where Indian representative Rentala Srinivas denounced Pakistan as a terrorist state, proclaiming: “No arguments or untruths can ever whitewash the crimes of Terroristan.”
In response, Muhammad Rashid, Second Secretary at the Pakistan Mission, condemned the remarks as “utterly shameful,” stating that India had stooped to the level of distorting the name of a fellow UN member state.
Rashid not only refuted the terrorism claims previously made by Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar but also termed the attempted distortion “undignified.” He proceeded to assert that India itself “is not just a serial perpetrator of terrorism, but a regional bully that is holding South Asia hostage to its hegemonic designs and radical ideology.”
He urged the international community to take notice of India’s “reckless behaviour.”
“By engaging in this kind of rhetoric, India diminishes its own credibility, showing the world that it has no substantive argument to offer—only, I am sorry to say, cheap slurs which are not worthy of serious discourse.”
Questioning the abusive nature of the language, Rashid further commented: “Such language reflects neither maturity nor responsibility. Instead, it exposes that India is frustrated and reveals its pettiness on the world stage.”
He alleged that India “itself has been implicated in supporting and sponsoring terrorism beyond its borders.”
Calling the situation unfortunate, the Pakistani diplomat added that Indian “intelligence operatives have been accused of financing and directing groups engaged in sabotage and targeted killings across the world.”
“Undermining regional stability and violating international law is a habit for India.”
Rashid also pointed out that such actions “expose the duplicity of India’s counterterrorism claims, and raise concern regarding India fuelling terrorism rather than combating it.”
He stressed that the allegations made by Jaishankar were “completely devoid of facts” and constituted an attempt to “malign” Pakistan’s reputation.
Earlier, the Indian minister had stated, without explicitly naming Pakistan, that “India has confronted this challenge since independence, having a neighbour that is an epicentre of global terrorism.”
Highlighting Pakistan’s sacrifices in the global fight against terrorism, Rashid underlined that Pakistan is “one of the strongest pillars in leading global efforts for combating terrorism.”
Conversely, the diplomat pointed out that India “is in the league of those who illegally occupy territories, oppress populations and violate fundamental human rights, as is the case in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”
He condemned the existence of “State terrorism — in the form of: extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions, staged encounters and collective punishment under the cover of counter terrorism.”
While reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to peace in South Asia, Rashid noted that “these goals cannot be achieved through threats and intimidation.”
On that basis, he invited India to “embrace” peace, stating, “True progress requires sincerity, mutual respect, dialogue and diplomacy—principles Pakistan has upheld, and which India must finally choose to embrace, if it truly seeks peace.”
On Friday, during his address to the UNGA, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had previously highlighted the need for “proactive” rather than “provocative” leadership for South Asia, citing India’s recent aggression against Pakistan.
