New Delhi: India hit back at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the UN general assembly’s sixth committee, accusing it of “wilful blindness” over references to Kashmir and New Delhi’s actions against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK). Bharatiya Janata Party MP, Biplab Kumar Deb, delivering India’s statement on Tuesday during discussions on measures to eliminate international terrorism, said the grouping was unable to distinguish between “fact and fiction” and between the “victim and perpetrator”.
Deb asserted that India retained the right to defend its people against cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan and said there would be consequences for those indulging in terrorism. He described India’s earlier response as “focused and measured” action against what New Delhi says was terrorist infrastructure across the border.
Biplab Kumar Deb, a BJP national secretary and former chief minister of Tripura, made the remarks during the UN general assembly’s sixth committee discussion on measures to eliminate international terrorism in New York. He is part of India’s parliamentary delegation to the ongoing UN general assembly session.
OIC statement prompts Indian rebuttal
Deb was responding to a statement delivered by Saudi Arabia on behalf of the OIC. The statement did not directly name India but referred to Kashmir and to New Delhi’s counterterrorism actions following the Pahalgam terror attack.
India has said the April 2025 Pahalgam attack, in which 26 civilians were killed, was planned and executed by networks enjoying support and haven across its western border. New Delhi subsequently described its military response as focused action against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and POK.
Deb also rejected what he called the OIC’s “unwarranted reference” to Jammu & Kashmir and pointed instead to conditions in POK.
“The OIC chair would do better to focus on Pakistan’s illegal occupation, especially in Rawalakot, where wanton killings, brutal violence and the denial of basic rights to the people living there are so visible,” he said.
“Such wilful blindness only speaks of bigotry and intolerance,” Deb added.
Kashmir remains point of diplomatic friction
The OIC has repeatedly raised Kashmir at international forums and supports what it describes as the right of Kashmiris to self-determination. India rejects such interventions, maintaining that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of the country and that external references to the issue amount to interference in its internal affairs.
The exchange took place during the sixth committee’s consideration of “measures to eliminate international terrorism.” The committee deals with legal matters before the general assembly, including international legal questions concerning terrorism.