Pakistan accuses India of ‘state terrorism’ at UN, rejects Afghan civilian killing claims

• Counsellor Saima Saleem says allegations part of coordinated disinformation campaign

• Accuses India of backing ‘terror proxies,’ including TTP, BLA and Majeed Brigade, raising Kashmir issue, citing rights violations and denial of self-determination

• Flags IWT suspension as threat to regional water security, reaffirming Pakistan’s stance for peace, dialogue and international law

 UNITED NATIONS: A Pakistani diplomat on Wednesday rejected Indian allegations regarding the killing of Afghan civilians, asserting instead that India itself is engaged in state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan, and alleging that claims advanced by the Taliban authorities and echoed by Indian officials form part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.

Addressing a Security Council debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Counsellor Saima Saleem said Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operations are directed solely against terrorist elements and their infrastructure, not against Afghan civilians or public facilities.

“We can sense India’s disappointment, as its investments in the use of Afghan terrorist franchise against Pakistan are going to waste due to our effective counter-terrorism operations,” she said, adding that Pakistan’s actions are focused exclusively on dismantling militant networks.

She said India’s “state-sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan is not abstract; it has a human cost,” while exercising Pakistan’s right of reply to India’s UN Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, who had also levelled allegations regarding 1971 events.

The Pakistani delegate said India “once again came to this Council wearing the mask of a victim,” but argued that its record reflects “state that exports terrorism abroad, occupies people by force, persecutes minorities at home, weaponizes water, commits aggression in the region.”

She alleged that Indian “terrorist proxies” including the TTP, BLA and Majeed Brigade were responsible for attacks that killed civilians in Pakistan, saying these networks operate through external facilitation.

On Afghanistan, she said Pakistan conducts “precise, deliberate and professional” counter-terrorism operations against militant hideouts, training camps, ammunition depots and support networks used to launch attacks against Pakistani civilians, security forces and infrastructure.

Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, she said civilians continue to face killings, detentions, dispossession and restrictions on freedoms, while their right to self-determination remains unfulfilled.

She also referred to what she described as “state-sponsored Hindutva extremism” in India, alleging rising Islamophobia, hate speech and discrimination against minorities.

On water issues, she said India’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance demonstrated disregard for international law, adding that a state threatening the water and food security of millions cannot claim to champion civilian protection.

Pakistan, she said, remains committed to peace, dialogue, peaceful dispute resolution and international law, while accusing India of being “exposed by terrorism, occupation, repression and disregard for international norms.”