- Sarwani urges India to end occupation and follow UN Security Council resolutions.
- It exposes India’s rights violations, distorting the demographics of IIOJK.
- Says Pakistan acted responsibly, rejects India Pahalgam’s claims.
Pakistan told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that Jammu and Kashmir is not an Indian territory and will never be recognized as such, effectively rejecting New Delhi’s claims during a discussion at the world body.
“Let me make it clear that Kashmir is not, never was and never will be the so-called part of India,” said Gul Qaiser Sarwani, advisor and political coordinator of the Pakistan Mission, while speaking at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Leadership for Peace.
He said: “Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory, and this is not just the position of Pakistan; it is the position of the United Nations.
“India itself took the matter to the Security Council and accepted the obligation to allow the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their future through a UN-supervised plebiscite.
“Almost eight decades later, that commitment remains unfulfilled.”
Sarwani added: “Instead, India maintains a massive military presence, suppresses fundamental freedoms, silences independent voices and implements measures aimed at altering the demographic character of the territory, in flagrant violation of international law and its legal obligations as an occupying power.”
Regarding the terrorism allegations, he said: “India’s attempts to divert attention through baseless accusations of terrorism cannot obscure its history of sponsoring terrorism across its borders, its perpetration of state terrorism in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, its state-backed global killing campaign, including in North America, and state sponsorship of violence against its minorities.”
He noted: “There is credible evidence of India’s sponsorship of terrorist groups, including the TTP, Fitna Alkhwarij, and the BLA, Fitna Hindustan, who have carried out attacks in Pakistan.”
Sarwani also said: “In addition to its blatant sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan, it is India that has repeatedly attacked Pakistan, in flagrant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.”
He added that Pakistan had always acted with responsibility and restraint, saying: “Pakistan, as a responsible State, joined other members of the Security Council in condemning the Pahalgam incident. Pakistan offered an independent and credible investigation, which India rejected.”
Describing India’s conduct, Sarwani said: “This conduct of the Indian state reflects the mentality of a dishonest actor, assuming the role of judge, jury and executioner, in flagrant disregard of international law and norms.
“There was no self-defense on India’s part; it was blatant aggression against a sovereign state.”
He noted Pakistan’s response: “Pakistan’s violation of India’s sovereignty was appropriately responded to by inflicting losses on Indian military and aviation assets, including by shooting down multiple Indian aircraft that were involved in the aggression.”
On the Indus Waters Treaty, Sarwani said: “India’s remarks on the Indus Waters Treaty are nothing more than a deliberate distortion of facts and misinterpretation of a binding international agreement.
“No provision of the Indus Waters Treaty allows for unilateral suspension or modification or so-called ‘suspension’. Such actions amount to weaponizing water for limited political benefits.”
He cited the 2025 Arbitration Court award and noted: “The 2025 Arbitration Tribunal award reaffirmed the continued validity of the Treaty and its dispute settlement mechanisms, upholding Pakistan’s position that all differences must be resolved strictly within the legal framework of the Treaty.
“Pakistan has also brought its position and concerns to the attention of the Security Council.”
Sarwani also spoke about democracy in India and said, “Indian claims to democracy deserve scrutiny, particularly when its actions reflect the systematic erosion of civil liberties, suppression of dissent, marginalization and oppression against minorities, and the rise of majoritarian extremism under Hindutva ideology.”
He rejected India’s criticism of Pakistan’s laws, adding: “We reject the baseless and misplaced characterization of Pakistan’s constitutional and legislative processes, which are adopted by the two-thirds majority of Pakistan’s parliament.
“Like all parliamentary democracies, constitutional amendments are the exclusive domain of the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan. India has neither the standing nor the moral authority to question Pakistan’s constitutional processes.
“No one needs lessons on democracy or the rule of law from a state whose conduct is in open contradiction to these principles.”
Concluding, he said: “In the spirit of today’s debate, leadership for peace demands that India abandon denial, end its occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, end state-sponsored terrorism, fulfill its international obligations, implement United Nations Security Council resolutions and choose the path of dialogue and good neighborliness.”
