Hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif raked up the Kashmir issue and told the United Nations General Assembly that any attempt to alter the status of the Indus Waters Treaty would be considered an “act of war”, India reacted sharply Saturday, warning Pakistan of “consequences” over its export of terror, and drawing the world body’s attention to the killings and violence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Islamabad’s treatment of minorities.

Exercising India’s right to reply after Sharif’s address, Petal Gahlot, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, while referring to Sharif as “the representative of Pakistan”, rejected his allegations and underlined that Jammu and Kashmir was an “integral and inalienable part” of India and would remain so.

She reminded the world how Pakistan harboured Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in New York, where the UNGA session was being held.

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“This afternoon, the General Assembly heard some bizarre remarks from the representative of Pakistan. This happens just a fortnight after New York City and the world marked the 25th anniversary of the horrendous 9/11 terrorist attack… Its mastermind, Osama bin Laden, was living right on the doorstep of the Pakistani Army’s premier academy.”

“They claim to uphold security during the day; they actually carry out terrorism at night… The world knows how minorities are treated in Pakistan. No pious platitude can mislead it,” she said.

Responding to Sharif’s remarks on Kashmir, Gahlot said, “References were made to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This is an integral and inalienable part of my country and will always remain so. But if we must talk about Kashmir, let us turn our attention to Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Ask the people of Rawalakot about the wanton killings, the brutal violence and the denial of basic rights that they have long experienced.”

Elections to the so-called PoK Assembly were scheduled last month but violent clashes and security crackdowns, and the killing of dozens of protesters, led to the indefinite postponement of polling for several seats

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Earlier, Sharif, in his address to the UNGA, raised the Kashmir issue and said the people there had been waiting for the United Nations to fulfil its commitment to a “plebiscite” under its auspices.

He alleged that there had been attempts to alter the legal status of Jammu and Kashmir through demographic changes and other measures.

Speaking on the issue of Indus waters – India put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025 – Sharif said that any attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan’s share of the waters of the Indus river system would be treated as an “act of war”. He again praised US President Donald Trump’s “resolute and visionary leadership” and thanked him for his “timely intervention” in saving “millions of lives” in South Asia.

In her response, Gahlot referred to cross-border terror emanating from Pakistan and to India’s Operation Sindoor after the terror attack in Pahalgam. “At the heart of the issue is the long-standing practice of cross-border terrorism by Pakistan. We demonstrated last year that terrorists will have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Our right to defend ourselves against terrorism will be exercised and continued. Terrorism by Pakistan will have consequences,” she said.

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“We are confident that this Assembly will recognise Pakistan and its policies for what they really are, not what its representative mendaciously projects it to be. Reiterating falsehoods year after year does not make them true. Pakistan’s terrorism, deceit and duplicity will neither benefit it nor the world,” she said.

India has made clear that the Indus Waters Treaty will be kept in abeyance until Pakistan “credibly” stops cross-border terrorism.