‘Absurd Theatrics, Glorifies Terror’: India Slams Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif’s UN Speech
India on Saturday delivered a sharp and scathing takedown of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s address at the UN General Assembly, dismissing his remarks on Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty as “absurd theatrics” and a blatant attempt to “glorify terrorism” . Exercising India’s Right of Reply, Indian diplomat Petal Gahlot accused Islamabad of having a foreign policy centered on terror and of using the global stage to peddle lies and duplicitous narratives .
“Mr President, this assembly witnessed absurd theatrics in the morning from the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who once again glorified terrorism that is so central to their foreign policy. However, no degree of drama and no level of lies can conceal the facts,” Gahlot told the assembly . She reminded the world body that Pakistan had recently shielded a “Pakistani-sponsored terror outfit”—The Resistance Front—at the UN Security Council from responsibility for the “barbaric massacre” of 25 tourists in Pahalgam in April .
Hammering home the point, Gahlot cited Pakistan’s history of harbouring extremists. “Let us recall that it sheltered Osama bin Laden for a decade, even while pretending to partner in the war against terrorism. Its ministers have just recently acknowledged that they have been operating terrorist camps for decades,” she said, calling Sharif’s speech a continuation of this duplicity .
As is customary, Sharif had used his speech to raise the Kashmir issue, promising to stand with the Kashmiri people against what he called “India’s tyranny” and calling for a UN-led plebiscite . He also accused India of violating the Indus Waters Treaty by putting it in abeyance after the Pahalgam attack, calling the move an “act of war” . India suspended its participation in the 1960 treaty as a direct response to the terror attack, linking its reinstatement to verifiable steps by Pakistan to end cross-border violence