Will exercise right to defend against terrorism: India at UN

New Delhi: India will continue to exercise its right to defend itself against terrorism, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said at the UN General Assembly, asserting that friendship and goodwill can’t coexist with the scourge.

“Yesterday, a serial practitioner of terrorism misrepresented facts before this assembly,” said Jaishankar, without directly naming Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif ’s speech on Friday at the UNGA. “Arguments were invoked to normalise terrorism and claim immunity from its consequences. That will not stand,” said Jaishankar, delivering India’s statement at the general debate at the 81st session of UNGA. “Our right to defend ourselves against terrorism will be exercised,” he said, strongly underlining that “friendship and goodwill cannot co-exist with terrorism. And understandings premised on that will naturally be called into question. It is for the perpetrator of terrorism to mend its ways.”

“That this could be state-sponsored, with cross-border purpose, makes it a direct affront to the global order,” he said. “Governments indulging in such practices must be held accountable. There must be no dilution in our zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism. Its financial aspects, in particular, should be exposed and should be countered.”


Sharif, in his speech, credited US President Donald Trump for ‘timely intervention’ in the 2025 conflict against India. Sharif also raised the issue of Kashmir as well as the Indus Waters Treaty, which India has said will be held in abeyance until Pakistan, a global epicentre of terror, credibly and irrevocably ends its support for crossborder and all other forms of terror. He also called for reformed multilateralism, saying, “We are now well on our way towards a multi-polar world.”

“The post-1945 order is giving way to new realities. This process of adjustment, accommodation and acceptance will not be easy. Much of the turbulence that we witness today emanates from those very difficulties.” The minister said after eight decades of the UN, there should have been an enabling environment for peace, but “instead, what we are actually seeing is the weaponisation of everything.”

“A mindset of extreme competition has set in, undermining institutions and establishing choke points,” he said. “It extends from the world of finance to constricting market access, disrupting supply chains, and withholding technology... As a result, nations are now more focused on de-risking and diversifying,” he said, highlighting that “while this may secure their interests to varying degrees, the overall atmosphere is no longer that of trust or goodwill.”

ATTACKS ON COMMERCIAL VESSELS ‘COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE’

Jaishankar also highlighted growing dangers in global shipping lanes, noting that attacks on commercial vessels have claimed the lives of Indian seafarers alongside those from other nations. “Indian seafarers have lost their lives, as indeed have others from other nations. This is completely unacceptable,” he said, emphasising that “we must ensure that the safety and security of shipping and seafarers is never compromised.”

PALESTINE-ISRAEL: ‘TWO-STATE SOLUTION MUST FOR LASTING PEACE’

Jaishankar said that a two-state solution is needed to achieve lasting peace in West Asia, stressing New Delhi’s commitment to humanitarian assistance for Palestinians amid Israel’s war on Gaza. “Tensions and violence also regrettably continue... We strongly believe that a durable and lasting peace requires a two-state solution,” he said. He noted that India is contributing to humanitarian assistance and relief efforts for the Palestinian people. The recent BRICS summit in New Delhi had pitched for a Palestine state.