- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday, accused Pakistan of lying to the UN General Assembly
- Jaishankar rejected Pakistan's claims and affirmed India's right to self-defence against terrorism
- Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, in his address, had called Operation Sindoor "external aggression"
Speaking at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that Pakistan is a "serial practitioner of terrorism" and that the country "misrepresented facts" yesterday, referring to their prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif's address.
Directly referencing remarks made the previous day, without naming Pakistan, Jaishankar said that it raised arguments to "normalise terrorism" and affirmed India's right to self-defence. He conditioned any normalisation of ties on the cessation of terrorism.
"Yesterday, a serial practitioner of terrorism misrepresented facts before this assembly. Arguments were invoked to normalize terrorism and claim immunity from its consequences. That will not stand. Our right to defend ourselves against terrorism will be exercised. Friendship and goodwill cannot coexist with terrorism, and understandings premised on that will naturally be called into question. It is for the perpetrator of terrorism to mend its ways", Jaishankar said.
On Friday, Sharif revisited the May military confrontation, characterising India's Operation Sindoor as an act of "external aggression" launched under a "false pretext." He further asserted that Pakistan's actions were a legitimate exercise of its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
He then proceeded to praise Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir and praised the armed forces.
"They silenced the enemy, repulsed its attacks and taught it a lesson it shall never, ever forget", he said.
Sharif also thanked US President Donald Trump for his "timely intervention" in halting Operation Sindoor. Trump later shared the 87-second clip on Truth Social without any comments.
India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had killed 26 civilians.
New Delhi has rejected Trump's claims and asserted that Operation Sindoor was paused following a request from Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations to his counterpart in the Indian Army.
