"Right of Reply by Counsellor, Ms. Saima SaleemIn Response to Remarks of Indian RepresentativeDuring the General Debate of the 81st Session of UN General Assembly(25 September 2026)*********Mr. President,My delegation is compelled to respond to a State that has elevated propaganda into statecraft, embraced disinformation as diplomacy, exports terrorism as an instrument of policy, pursues hegemony as a regional strategy, mainstreamed Islamophobia, and institutionalized Hindutva ideology.2. Let me present the extraordinary balance sheet of todays incredibly intolerant India. It exports terrorism and violence while trying to import victimhood and sympathy.3. Pakistan knows the cost of Indian-sponsored terrorism all too well. Since the turn of the century, Pakistan has lost nearly 100,000 lives to terrorism; generations scarred, and billions of dollars drained from our economy.4. Pakistans counter-terrorism efforts and sacrifices have been well recognized internationally. We have also presented to the international community extensive evidence of Indias financing, aiding and abetting of terrorist groups targeting Pakistanis, including the TTP, BLA and Majeed Brigade. Yet, despite its endless lectures to others on terrorism, we are still waiting to hear India unequivocally condemn the terrorist attacks that kill innocent Pakistani civilians. But how can we expect India to condemn its proxies.5. Indias terrorist exports have gone from regional to global. From a serving Indian naval commander, Kulbhushan Jadhav, convicted in Pakistan on terrorism and espionage charges, to Nikhil Gupta, who pleaded guilty in the United States for plotting the murder of a Sikh leader at the direction of the Indian Government, and others implicated in assassinations carried out in Canada, Indias record speaks for itself.Mr. President,6. Turning over to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Jammu and Kashmir never was, neither is, nor will ever be an integral part of India. It is an internationally recognized disputed territory, a huge part of which is under Indias forcible and illegal occupation for nearly eight decades against the wishes of the Kashmiri people, and in gross violation of international law and numerous resolutions of the Security Council.7. The contrast between Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir could not be more stark. In AJK, Kashmiris enjoy rights, participate in political life, and have the freedom to express their opinions; while the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir endure decades of occupation, repression and denial of their fundamental rights and freedoms including the inalienable right to self-determination. Rights exercised cannot be equated with rights denied.Mr. President,8. The ruling RSS-BJP dispensation in India has institutionalized Hindutva ideology in state policy and practice, and unleashed a reign of terror against minorities. Muslims are demonized; Christians persecuted; Dalits dehumanized; and Sikhs disenfranchised in the largest hypocrisy in the world. Massacres of Muslims in Gujarat and Delhi under state patronage, calls for the genocide of Muslims, Islamophobic rhetoric by politicians, and discriminatory citizenship laws are part of the Hindutva project.Mr. President,9. By the so-called holding in abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty and blatantly disregarding its international legal obligations, including the sanctity of treaties, India has stooped to a new low of weaponizing water, a lifeline for the 240 million people of Pakistan. Its false narratives and disinformation could not hide the crushing defeat it suffered at Pakistans hands during Marka-e-Haq in May 2025. It is well recognized by the international community that India lost more than a military conflict; it lost its credibility. Today India can no longer import sympathy as it stands exposed in front of the world.10. As stated by my Prime Minister, Pakistan remains steadfast in its pursuit of peace, mutual respect, dialogue and the peaceful settlement of disputes in our region and beyond a commitment reflected in our consistent role as a peacemaker, mediator and bridge-builder. We will defend ourselves whenever aggression is imposed upon us, but we will never abandon the path to peace; for lasting strength lies not in the wars a nation can fight, but in peace which it has the courage to build and defend.I thank you."