India hits back at Pakistan at UN, rejects ‘false’ Op Sindoor narrative, asserts ‘no locus standi’ on J-K

NEW YORK: India on Monday (local time) strongly rejected Pakistan’s remarks made on New Delhi’s retaliatory action through Operation Sindoor following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, calling them “false and self-serving”, and asserted that Islamabad has “no locus standi” to comment on matters internal to India, particularly on the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, made the remarks while responding to Pakistan during the UN Security Council Open Debate, stating that the Pakistan representative has “a single-point agenda” to harm India and its people.

Ambassador Parvathaneni said Pakistan had advanced a “false and self-serving account” of Operation Sindoor carried out in May last year, stressing that the facts were clear and well documented. He recalled that Pakistan-sponsored terrorists killed 26 innocent civilians in a brutal attack in Pahalagam, an act of terrorism that was condemned by the Security Council itself.

#WATCH | Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Parvathaneni Harish, says, “I now respond to the comments of the representative of Pakistan, an elected member of the Security Council, which has a single-point agenda to harm my country and my people. He has… pic.twitter.com/I8pX4tt1zl

— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2026

“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. The Indian envoy underlined that India’s response was “measured, non-escalatory and responsible” and was aimed solely at dismantling terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists.

The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7, 2025, which targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) as a retaliatory response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

He added that Pakistan had continued to threaten further attacks on India until May 9, following which the Pakistani military reached out to India seeking a cessation of hostilities. “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”, he said.

Responding to Pakistan’s reference to a “new normal”, Ambassador Parvathaneni asserted that 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, adding that the Security Council must not become a forum to legitimise terrorism. “We will do whatever required to protect and ensure the safety and security of our citizens,” he added.

The Indian envoy further stated that Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on Jammu and Kashmir, reiterating that the Union Territory “has been, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.”

On the Indus Waters Treaty, Ambassador Parvathaneni said India had entered into the agreement 65 years ago in good faith, but Pakistan had repeatedly violated its spirit through wars and sustained cross-border terrorism. He said India was compelled to place the treaty in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for terrorism.

He further advised Pakistan to introspect on its own adherence to the rule of law, pointing to the role of its armed forces in constitutional developments, including the 27th amendment and the granting of lifetime immunity to its Chief of Defence Forces.

“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,” the envoy said.

In conclusion, Ambassador Parvathaneni reiterated that strengthening the international rule of law and reforming multilateralism remain strategic necessities for the United Nations to effectively fulfil its mandate of maintaining international peace and security.

“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 with regard to maintenance of international peace and security,” he added. (ANI)