New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): India has strongly rejected remarks made by Pakistan at the United Nations, asserting that bilateral cooperation under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty cannot be expected when cross-border terrorism is routinely deployed as an instrument of state policy. Exercising the right of reply during a High-Level Open Debate of the UN Security Council on natural resources governance, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, stated that New Delhi was compelled to respond after Islamabad misused the international forum to push a false narrative. Reaffirming India’s constitutional stance, the envoy emphasized that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has always been, is, and will remain an integral and inalienable part of the country.
The sharp diplomatic exchange followed accusations made by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, who alleged that India was weaponizing water by placing the World Bank-brokered treaty in abeyance, claiming the decision threatened the livelihoods of over 240 million Pakistanis. India suspended formal cooperation under the historic water-sharing accord following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, maintaining that trust and goodwill cannot coexist with state-sponsored violence. Responding to the territorial claims, Ambassador Harish noted that the only unresolved issue regarding Jammu and Kashmir remains Pakistan’s illegal occupation of Indian sovereign territory, advising Islamabad to focus on its own domestic challenges rather than making allegations on global platforms.
