Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and Indian diplomat Petal Gahlot
NEW DELHI: India on Saturday delivered a sharp rebuttal to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s speech at the UN General Assembly, dismissing his remarks as “absurd theatrics” and asserting that “no degree of drama can conceal facts.”Indian diplomat Petal Gahlot, exercising the right of reply, sharply criticised Pakistan. “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,” Gahlot said.
Pointing to Pakistan’s record on terrorism, Gahlot highlighted Islamabad’s role in the Pahalgam attack. “No degree of drama and no level of lies can conceal the facts. This is the very same Pakistan which, at the UN Security Council on 25th April 2025, shielded the resistance front – a Pakistani-sponsored terror outfit — from the responsibility of carrying out the barbaric massacre of tourists in the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said. Recalling Pakistan’s history of sheltering terrorists, Gahlot said, “A country long steeped in the tradition of deploying and exporting terrorism has no shame in advancing the most ludicrous narratives to that end. 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. It should come as no surprise that once again this duplicity continues, this time at the level of its Prime Minister.”Earlier in the day, Pakistan PM Sharif used his UNGA speech to echo Donald Trump’s claims, saying the US President played an “active role” in brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after military action in May.Sharif alleged that India sought “political gains” after the Pahalgam attack and accused New Delhi of targeting “innocent civilians” while remaining silent on Islamabad’s own support for crossborder terrorism.“In May this year, my country confronted unprovoked aggression from our eastern front. The enemy came shrouded in arrogance, and we sent them back in humiliation. India sought to extract political gains from a human tragedy by spurning my sincere offer of an independent investigation into the Pahalgam incident. Instead, it attacked our cities and targeted our innocent civilians. When our territorial integrity and national security were violated, our response was in accordance with the right of self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations charter,” Sharif said.Sharif also repeated his earlier false claim that Pakistan had shot down Indian fighter jets. He asserted that Pakistan’s forces responded with “stunning professionalism,” saying they repelled the aggression and “shot down seven Indian jets, sending them to scrap and dust.”In addition, Sharif raised the issue of the Indus Water Treaty, accusing India of violating its provisions. Go to Source
