‘Pakistan pleaded for cessation of fighting during Operation Sindoor’: India at UNSC | India News

India told the UN Security Council that the Pakistani army had directly “begged” for an end to Operation Sindoor and rejected Islamabad’s claims of foreign interference.

“We will do whatever it takes to protect and ensure the safety and security of our citizens,” Permanent Representative of India P Harish said in a statement on Monday. He emphasized that terrorism “can never be normalized the way Pakistan wants.”

Harish outlined the timeline of Operation Sindoor, which targeted Pakistan-based terror infrastructure following the attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22 last year. “Until May 9, Pakistan was threatening further attacks on India, but on May 10, the Pakistan army directly called our army and pleaded for a cessation of hostilities,” he said.

He highlighted the extent of damage to Pakistani air bases, including destroyed runways and burnt hangars, noting that images documenting the destruction were already publicly available.

He said India’s military response was measured and responsible. The attack, which killed 26 people in Pahalgam, was carried out by the Resistance Front affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba organization, which is defined as a terrorist organization by both India and the USA.

“India’s actions were measured, did not escalate tensions, were responsible and focused on dismantling terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorism,” Harish said. He added that the operation was aimed at furthering the UN Security Council’s call to “hold accountable and bring to justice the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this heinous act of terrorism”.

Harish did not mention US President Donald Trump, who had previously claimed to have ended the conflict with diplomacy and tariff threats, and suggested that he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.

During the Council’s open debate on “Reaffirming the rule of international law”, Pakistan Permanent Representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad described Operation Sindoor as an “unprovoked military attack” and raised concerns over Kashmir, as well as the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.

Rejecting Pakistan’s claims, Harish said, “The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.” On the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, he said India was “forced to finally announce the suspension of the treaty until Pakistan, the global epicenter of terrorism, credibly and irreversibly ends its support for cross-border and all other forms of terrorism.”

Harish criticized Pakistan for using UN forums to legitimize terrorism and said, “This hallowed chamber cannot be a forum for Pakistan to legitimize terrorism.” He called on Pakistan to introspect on the rule of law and pointed to the 27th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, saying it effectively established military supremacy by giving lifetime immunity to the chief of the country’s defense forces.

(With inputs from IANS)