At UNSC, India says it has right to defend itself, warns Pakistan of 'consequences' for cross-border terror

India on Tuesday strongly criticised Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council UNSC asserting that New Delhi has ldquoevery rightrdquo to defend itself against crossborder terrorism and warning Islamabad that there would be ldquoconsequencesrdquo for supporting terror activities directed at IndiaIndiarsquos Permanent Representative to the United Nations Harish Parvathaneni delivered the sharp response during a UNSC debate on ldquoUpholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and strengthening the UNcentred international systemrdquo The meeting was chaired by Wang Yi under Chinarsquos presidency of the 15member Security Council for MayIndia responds to Pakistanrsquos remarks at UNSCParvathaneni said he was compelled to respond to what he described as ldquobaseless and unwarranted remarksrdquo made by Pakistan during the debate He stated that Indiarsquos history since Independence has included repeated instances of crossborder aggression from PakistanldquoIndependent India began its life battling with crossborder aggression by Pakistan which coveted Indian territories that had become a part of India as a result of their complete legal and irrevocable accessionrdquo Parvathaneni said during the sessionHis remarks came after Pakistanrsquos Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and referred to the Indus Waters Treaty during the debateReference to Pahalgam terror attackIndiarsquos response also referred to the April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 civilians were killed Following the attack India had put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyanceThe Resistance Front TRF believed to be linked to the Pakistanbased terrorist organisation LashkareTaiba had claimed responsibility for the attackParvathaneni accused Pakistan of continuing to use terrorism as a state policy against India He said Pakistanrsquos longstanding doctrine of ldquobleeding India by a thousand cutsrdquo exposed what he called the gap between Islamabadrsquos rhetoric and its actions regarding international peace and the UN CharterlsquoIndia has every right to defend itselfrsquoReiterating Indiarsquos position on national security Parvathaneni said the country reserves the right to protect its citizens from terror attacks originating across the borderldquoIndia has every right to defend itself from such crossborder terrorism Pakistan will have to accept that there are consequences to its sponsorship of crossborder terrorismrdquo he saidThe Indian envoy further stated that Pakistan had violated the principles of sovereignty territorial integrity and peaceful coexistence through wars unprovoked aggression and continued support for crossborder terror groupsIndia accuses Pakistan of backing extremismIn his address Parvathaneni also accused Pakistan of promoting terrorism religious extremism and violent radicalism since its creationldquoPakistanrsquos harnessing of terrorism religious extremism violent radicalism and antiIndia rhetoric has continued unabatedrdquo he said adding that the evidence of such activities was already on public recordIndia urged Pakistan to take credible and irreversible steps to end support for all forms of terrorismDebate held under Chinarsquos UNSC presidencyThe UNSC debate was organised as part of Chinarsquos presidency of the Security Council for the month of May Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi presided over the opening session attended by representatives from member statesThe exchange between India and Pakistan once again brought bilateral tensions to the forefront at the United Nations particularly over issues related to terrorism and regional securityWith inputs from PTI