India mounted a forceful and pointed attack on Pakistan during a session of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, drawing a direct connection between Islamabad’s ongoing internal political turmoil and its long history of sponsoring cross-border terrorism. Speaking at the UNSC, India also pressed strongly for long-pending reforms of the Security Council, arguing that its current structure is outdated and incapable of addressing present-day global challenges.
Leading the Indian delegation, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni used the UNSC Open Debate on “Leadership for Peace” to sharply criticize Pakistan’s domestic political situation. He referred to the imprisonment of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the banning of Khan’s political party, and what he described as the Pakistani military’s role in orchestrating a “constitutional coup” through the 27th constitutional amendment.
Addressing Pakistan’s democratic crisis, Parvathaneni cited Imran Khan’s incarceration since August 2023 in connection with a EUR 190 million corruption case, as well as his prosecution under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act for events linked to the May 9, 2023, protests. He also highlighted international concern over Khan’s treatment in detention, referring to observations made by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Jill Edwards, who had raised alarms about alleged inhuman conditions at Adiala Jail.
“Pakistan, of course, has a unique way of respecting the will of its people — by jailing a Prime Minister, banning the ruling political party, and allowing its armed forces to engineer a constitutional coup through the 27th amendment, which grants lifetime immunity to its Chief of Defence Forces,” Parvathaneni said. His remarks were aimed at underscoring what India sees as the erosion of democratic norms and civilian authority in Pakistan, particularly following changes that strengthened the military’s influence and granted sweeping legal protections to Army Chief Asim Munir.
India also categorically rejected Pakistan’s repeated references to Jammu and Kashmir during the debate, calling them “unwarranted” and reflective of Islamabad’s fixation on India. Parvathaneni stressed that Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India and said Pakistan’s attempts to raise the issue at every international forum only expose its divisive agenda.
He went on to say that a country serving as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, yet consistently using UN platforms to pursue what he described as an obsession with undermining India, could not be expected to uphold the responsibilities and obligations that come with Council membership.
Turning to security issues, the Indian envoy described Pakistan as a global epicentre of terrorism and defended New Delhi’s recent decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. Referring to the April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, in which 26 civilians were killed in what India described as a religion-based assault, Parvathaneni said such incidents highlighted Pakistan’s continued support for cross-border terrorism.
He noted that India had entered into the Indus Waters Treaty 65 years ago in good faith, but argued that Pakistan had repeatedly violated the spirit of the agreement through wars and thousands of terror attacks over the decades. Against this backdrop, he said, India had decided to suspend the treaty until Pakistan takes credible and irreversible steps to end its support for terrorism in all forms.
Beyond addressing Pakistan, India used the opportunity to renew its call for comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council. Ambassador Parvathaneni described reform as an “urgent global imperative,” arguing that the Council’s nearly eight-decade-old structure no longer reflects current geopolitical realities or the aspirations of large parts of the world.
Quoting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, he said, “We can’t create a future fit for our grandchildren with systems built for our grandparents,” to emphasize the need for structural change. He urged that the Intergovernmental Negotiations process on UNSC reform move towards time-bound, text-based negotiations, to improve representation for under-represented and unrepresented regions.
India reiterated its long-standing position that the Security Council must become more representative, inclusive, transparent, and effective. Parvathaneni also underlined India’s significant contributions to UN peacekeeping and global governance, arguing that these contributions further strengthen its case for a greater role in a reformed Security Council.
