New Delhi [India], September 26 (ANI): Former diplomat Veena Sikri has launched a scathing critique against Pakistan for raising the Kashmir issue and the Indus Waters Treaty at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), dismissing Islamabad's posturing as completely unacceptable and laughable.

Speaking to ANI, Sikri firmly defended India's sovereign decisions, highlighting that Islamabad's domestic mismanagement and state-sponsored terrorism are the actual root causes of the region's challenges.

'After the Pahalgam attack, India has categorically put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. And there's no further requirement of reporting, there's no further requirement of observing any of the clauses of the treaty. And India is following its own projects for the benefit of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and other states,' Sikri stated.

Exposing Pakistan's hypocrisy regarding water resources and its unlawful occupation of Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), Sikri underscored that Islamabad treats residents of the illegally occupied territory as second-class citizens while exploiting them economically.

'So you can imagine the discrimination that the government of Pakistan is putting on the residents of Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. So they have the gall, they have the cheek to actually criticise the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which is absolutely an inalienable part of India, and will always remain an inalienable part of India,' she noted.

Sikri further emphasised that India remains entirely resolute in combating the menace of cross-border terror, pointing out that Islamabad's deceitful tactics and false narratives at international forums will yield no results.

'And we have made it very clear that blood and water cannot flow together. And after the Pahalgam attacks last year, India categorically decided to put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. And it will remain so until there is verifiable evidence that Pakistan is no longer supporting terrorism, that Pakistan is no longer a state sponsor of terrorism. And all the terrorist groups on their soil, we attacked all the headquarters during Operation Sindoor last year, and all the terrorist groups on their soil must be dismantled and disabled completely,' Sikri affirmed.

Building on this resolute defence of national sovereignty, India subsequently delivered a stinging rebuttal to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif following his address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Exercising India's right of reply, Indian diplomat Petal Gahlot termed Sharif's remarks "bizarre" and brought the Assembly's attention to Pakistan's history of sheltering high-profile terrorists, noting that Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, was discovered residing within Pakistan.

"The US just observed the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Its mastermind was living at the doorstep of Pakistan's Army's premier academy," she pointed out.

Sharif had used the global platform to bring up the Kashmir issue and credit US President Donald Trump for his intervention during the 2025 conflict, a narrative directly dismantled as India exposed Islamabad's double standards on security, asserting that Pakistan "claims to uphold security by day and perpetrates terrorism by night."

Warning Islamabad of the repercussions of supporting cross-border terror, India firmly reiterated its sovereign right to self-defence.

"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," the Indian diplomat said.

New Delhi previously undertook Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year, striking terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 civilian lives.

While President Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for mediating a cessation of hostilities, New Delhi has consistently rejected any form of third-party intervention.

Calling upon the international community, India urged the UN Assembly "to recognise Pakistan and its policies for what they are, not what its representatives mendaciously present."

"Reiterating falsehood year after year will not make it true. Pakistan's duplicity and deceit will neither benefit it nor the world."

Addressing Sharif's focus on Kashmir during his extended address, India firmly maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is an "integral and inalienable part of India," while directing global attention towards rampant human rights violations in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

"Let's turn focus to PoK. Ask the people of Rawalkot about the wanton killings and human rights violations by the Pakistan government there," she stated.

Dismantling Islamabad's "hypocritical homilies" concerning democracy and human rights, India exposed the reality of Pakistan's governance.

"Pakistan is the regime of the army, for the army and by the army. Their puppets may change, but the army continues to call the shots."

On Islamabad's references to religious harmony, India underscored the country's dismal domestic record regarding minorities.

"The Pakistani regime has blasphemy laws as its mainstay. The world knows how Pakistan treats its minorities."

Regarding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), India has maintained that the pact will remain in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and permanently halts its active sponsorship of cross-border terrorism, a punitive measure instituted in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. (ANI)