Pakistan has said that India's key aims and objectives, under the disguise of development or humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, are solely driven by the singular goal of destabilizing Pakistan, including by using terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil, reported 24NewsHDTV channel on Tuesday.
This was said by Pakistan Permanent Representative to United Nations Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad while using the right of reply to Indian delegates speech during a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan on Monday.
He said "India is a state sponsor of terrorism — not just in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir or in Pakistan using the Afghan soil, but it is openly aiding, abetting and financing terrorism elsewhere. Extraterritorial assassinations — the international community is now well aware of it in North America, in Canada, in this country, the US. Everything is exposed."
Following is the text of Ambassador Asim Iftikhar’s speech:
“I have, in fact, been compelled to respond to some of the comments that have been made from the floor by the representative of Afghanistan. I shouldn't say representative, because, I mean, Mr Faik is occupying the seat, and I fully sympathize and empathize with him and about his predicament. But he is not representing anyone from Afghanistan. In fact, we listened to Ms Mehran today in this meeting, who is actually representing the civil society.
So, Mr Faik doesn't even have those credentials. But on the whole, he made the statement that made a lot of sense, except for his remarks about Pakistan's counterterrorism operations. And this was unfortunate because we have explained in our statement as to what was the rationale for those remarks. And let me repeat: Pakistan's actions, including those conducted in March, were directed solely against the terrorist and military support infrastructure that is operating from Afghanistan. And it is in no way directed against the brotherly people of Afghanistan.
So, these targets included drone storage and technical support infrastructure and ammunition storage sites, which were being used by the Afghan Taliban regime to carry out attacks against innocent Pakistani civilians. And the strikes were precise, deliberate and professional. No hospital or drug rehabilitation centre or civilian facility was targeted by these strikes. And as part of established practice, video footage of all six strikes was released by the Ministry of Information shortly after the operation, clearly showing the nature of the targets. The secondary explosions visible in the footage further confirmed that ammunition storage facilities were indeed struck with precision.
So, all insinuations to the contrary are not based on facts and are in fact just propaganda. Secondly, Madam President, we had this discussion today based on the report from the Secretary General. We heard statements from Council members and other members who are not members of the Council. And you would have noticed that this discussion represented a complex situation. And a lot of concerns were expressed by Council members and non-Council members. And the three key expectations of the international community were at the core of this discussion. And that means the inclusive governance, good governance, human rights, women and girls’ rights, and counterterrorism — this third commitment that Afghan soil will not be allowed to be used for terrorism against any country. These were at the core, at the heart of the discussion. And we clearly heard that there were condemnations. There were expressions of concern with regard to all three of these points, which are the main expectations of the international community from the Afghan Taliban. And there were clear demands from the majority of those who took the floor for the Taliban regime to comply with those commitments. And maybe, perhaps with the exception of one delegate, and that was India.
So, I feel obliged to respond to that as well. In fact, it does not come as a surprise to us, hearing comments made by the Indian representative since left. And we listened to, in fact, a long list of so-called development and humanitarian activities and support that India is purportedly carrying out in Afghanistan. It seemed that it was just a long prologue to something that he actually intended to say, and something that he actually wanted to utilize and abuse this forum. And that was to target Pakistan.
So, to us, it is absolutely clear — India's key aims and objectives, even though under the garb of, under the disguise of development or humanitarian assistance, it’s key aims and objectives in Afghanistan are solely driven by the singular goal of destabilizing Pakistan, including by using terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil. And that includes the TTP, which so many of my colleagues around the table condemned, and the BLA, which acts as a proxy of India to perpetrate terrorism inside Pakistan. And I, in fact, I thank him because I committed myself from mentioning this, but I thank him for recalling to everyone in the Council and those who were listening that the BLA — its other name is Fitna al-Hindustan, yes, that's what it is. It is an organization that is supported and financed by India to destabilize and target Pakistan. And I think for some time we are amused, perhaps, to listen to India's newfound love for the Taliban. We know all the history, what's there in the background. All those years where we knew what India's position was. But for us, this is not a coincidence.
This shift of policy comes at the heels of Pakistan's successful counterterrorism operations against the terrorist hideouts and camps that are operating inside Afghanistan with the active support of India. And as I said before, Mr Faik, for once, condemned terrorism emanating from Afghanistan which is directed towards Pakistan, which is impacting Pakistan, which is costing us, lives of hundreds of Pakistani nationals, including women and children, our security and law enforcement personnel.
But I'm sure you would have noticed that not once did the representative of India condemn the TTP or the BLA – yes, Fitna al-Hindustan – who have been carrying out attacks targeting innocent Pakistanis who have tragically lost their lives at the hands of these terrorists. We are not astonished. We are not surprised at all. Because we know very well that India's hostile policies and complicity is further validated by the remarks of its representative today, and I seriously believe that this behaviour should be a cause of concern for the Security Council and the international community. Because as I was mentioning earlier, more than 1,200 Pakistanis lost their lives last year alone. They were human beings with families like all of us, with ambitions, with hopes for a better future. But they were silenced by a group of cowardly terrorists backed by a country whose representative was trying to lecture this Council, and in fact, in the process, was actually trying to mask its own involvement in this bloodshed that is happening in Pakistan.
So, it is obviously — it must be discomforting for India to see its terrorist infrastructure being dismantled and destroyed in Afghanistan by Pakistan's valiant security forces, who I must say, and I repeat, who will continue to do whatever is necessary for our self-defence. India was calling on others to comply with international law and adhere to the dictates of humanity. It would be laughable if we are not aware of India's own record, and if the matter under consideration in the Council was not that serious — for we know that India's true face is truly exposed before the international community. It is a serial violator of international law.
For decades it has been in illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an international dispute on the agenda of this Council, and where it has been engaged in gross and systematic violations of human rights in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. And we were talking of violations of human rights, of women's rights and girls' rights in Afghanistan. How can we be quiet about violations — these grave, persistent, systematic violations of human rights which have been reported and corroborated by the international community, by human rights organizations, by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations — that India has been perpetrating in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir for decades.
And it's not just that, because India talks about democracy and rule of law, while we are also aware of its own conduct inside its country. Its persecution of minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and others against Indian citizens who dare not raise their voice. It talks about disinformation. It has its whole — the entire national media is under control of the BJP’s government, total control of narrative. And it is a state sponsor of terrorism — not just in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir or in Pakistan using the Afghan soil, but it is openly aiding, abetting and financing terrorism elsewhere. Extraterritorial assassinations — the international community is now well aware of it in North America, in Canada, in this country, in the US. Everything is exposed. And it talks of international law. It is in serious breach of Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. It has seriously violated the Indus Waters Treaty by declaring that it is holding it in abeyance, without any reason, justification, and in complete defiance of the treaty's provisions and international law.
There are so many things that I could have continued to say. It was talking about cricket and sportsman spirit, and we know the sportsman spirit when it refuses to play, or if it refuses to shake hands with the players. This is a country that is coming to the Council and telling us what cricket and sports could bring in terms of peace and harmony. Madam President, I think we should seriously consider also how we allow countries to take the floor in this Council, and under what rules and etiquette they should be speaking in this Council.
And my advice simply would be for India to do a little bit of introspection. And that it can do by discontinuing its policies of aggression, subversion and sabotage against neighbouring countries, particularly Pakistan. And it must look inwards and try to address its own problems rather than spreading disinformation and politicizing debates and discussions. Pakistan is well aware of India's motives and evil designs. But we will not allow them to nourish terrorists and threaten our national security. I would say that we have stopped them before and we will do it again, and we will do it always. I thank you.”
India is a state sponsor of terrorism — not just in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir or in Pakistan using the Afghan soil, but it is openly aiding, abetting and financing terrorism elsewhere. Extraterritorial assassinations — the international community is now well… pic.twitter.com/UfVBgwvqvm
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN (@PakistanUN_NY) June 9, 2026