India has given Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a stinging reply at the UN General Assembly, saying that Pakistan's armed forces "pleaded" to stop fighting during Operation Sindoor in May.
Emphasizing its long-held position, New Delhi asserted that there is "no space for any third party" to mediate between India and Pakistan.
"These morning antics in this assembly by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, going back again to glorifying terrorism that is so integral to their foreign policy," stated Petal Gahlot, First Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN, exercising India's Right of Reply on Friday (September 26, 2025).
Sharif offered a "bizarre" account of recent developments related to Operation Sindoor, India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that had claimed 26 civilian lives. The Resistance Front (TRF), a splinter group of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had taken responsibility for the massacre.
Until May 9, Pakistan was threatening to attack India again. But on May 10, its army begged us in no uncertain terms for a stop to the conflict," India explained. "The catalyst was the destruction Indian forces inflicted on several Pakistani airfields. The photos of that damage are, naturally, publicly available.
Sharif had asserted Pakistan "won the war," claimed to have shot down Indian planes, and credited U.S. President Donald Trump with mediating a ceasefire. India hit back hard, observing, "if burnt-out hangars and destroyed runways look like victory, as the Prime Minister said, Pakistan is welcome to enjoy it."
Gahlot further added, "we saw a lot of images of terrorists killed in Bahawalpur and Muridke terror camps by Indian forces during Operation Sindoor." She criticized Pakistan's credibility as its officials tend to glorify infamous terrorists as a matter of course. "If senior Pakistani defence and civilian authorities openly glorify and pay tribute to such notorious terrorists, can there be any doubt about the penchant of this regime?" she said.
A photograph that was widely distributed following Operation Sindoor revealed Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Hafiz Abdul Rauf conducting prayers for the victims of attacks on LeT's Muridke headquarters, with the attendance of Pakistan Army personnel.
Reaffirming India's stance on bilateralism, Gahlot averred, "India and Pakistan have accepted for long that any issue pending between them will be settled between them bilaterally. There is no space for any third party in that case."
India also brought to the Assembly's notice that Pakistan had prevented accountability for TRF in the UN Security Council on April 25, even though it had admitted the attack on Pahalgam. "No amount of drama and no amount of falsehood can hide facts," Gahlot asserted. The UNSC statement denounced the killings but left out reference to TRF when Islamabad protested.
We have exercised the right to protect our people from such acts and brought the organisers and perpetrators to justice," she added, reaffirming India's determination to hold terrorists as well as their sponsors accountable.
Blaming Pakistan for "exporting and using terrorism," she continued, "Let us remember it harbored Osama bin Laden for a decade, even as it pretended to be an ally in the fight against terrorism. Its ministers have only recently admitted that they have run terrorist camps for decades.
“Both will be held accountable. Nor will we allow terrorism to be practised under the cover of nuclear blackmail. India will never bow to such threats. India’s message to the world is clear; there must be zero-tolerance for terrorism,” Ms. Gahlot said.
Reacting to Sharif's offer of a "composite, comprehensive and result-oriented" conversation, Gahlot stated that if Pakistan were truly serious, "the path is clear"—shut down terror camps and surrender those wanted in India.
She also touched a wider note of irony, commenting that Pakistan, "which wallows in hate, bigotry and intolerance," was trying to lecture the UN about religion. "The political and public discourse of Pakistan is a reflection of its true nature. Clearly, a look by them at the mirror is long overdue," she stated.
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