India picks cudgels in the UNSC for Afghanistan, slams Pakistan’s Fitna al Hindustan narrative

New Delhi: India has picked up cudgels on behalf of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in the United Nations security council against Pakistan’s military strikes on its northern neighbour and for what New Delhi called the “trade and transit terrorism” of Islamabad. India’s UN permanent representative and ambassador, Harish Parvathaneni, in a sharp attack on Pakistan, told the highest UN decision-making body that Pakistan’s attacks on Afghanistan had resulted in huge civilian casualties and the “unconscionable acts of violence” were a threat to regional peace and stability.

“Pakistan’s campaign of military airstrikes against Afghanistan is causing huge civilian casualties and suffering to the Afghan people … Such unconscionable acts of violence are a blatant assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a threat to the region’s peace and stability,” Parvathaneni said during a discussion on the ‘Situation in Afghanistan’ on Monday. In a strong condemnation of Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghanistan, the ambassador said these were flagrant violations of international law, the UN charter, and the principle of state sovereignty.

Pakistan airstrikes during Ramadan

Citing the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), the Indian permanent representative noted that 372 civilians were killed and 397 injured in the Pakistani attacks on the neighbouring nation in the first three months of this year. He said most of the killings and injuries during the Pakistani military’s attacks happened during the holy month of Ramadan, which is observed as a time of peace, mercy, and reflection. This made the Pakistani attacks more reprehensible, he said. “No faith, no law, and no morality can justify such actions,” he added.

As the Pakistani representative at the horseshoe-style table listened, Parvathaneni strongly noted that Islamabad “dressing up a massacre as a military operation does not absolve the perpetrator” of killing, maiming, and orphaning children. “This is not counterterrorism,” he said, adding, “Espousing high principles of international law and Islamic solidarity while mercilessly carrying out airstrikes during Ramadan is the perfect example of hypocrisy.”

New Delhi debunks ‘Fitna al Hindustan’ narrative

The Indian permanent representative said, “Blaming neighbours for its own failures is an old Pakistan habit.” Strongly rejecting Islamabad’s framing of armed groups within its borders as “Fitna al Hindustan,” Parvathaneni said, “This attempt to hoodwink the world will fail.” He also reframed the Pakistani narrative, calling it an “officially sponsored misinformation and disinformation dressed in religious terminology.” Pakistan uses the term ‘Fitna al Hindustan’ to refer to Balochistan-based armed freedom fighters.

“This is an outcome of an organised factory of hate coming from the deep state of Pakistan, which aims to keep its citizens in a state of permanent hostility with India to perpetuate their stay in power and control of national resources and distract them from core political and economic problems,” the Indian ambassador said. “The de facto coup by the military through the 27th constitutional amendment is only its most recent manifestation,” he added. The constitutional amendment was a reference to the November 2025 law passed by the Pakistani parliament under prime minister Shehbaz Sharif that accorded a blanket lifelong immunity to army chief Asim Munir from all legal prosecutions for his actions.

‘Trade and transit terrorism’

India also condemned Pakistan’s “trade and transit terrorism” inflicted upon Afghan businessmen. Parvathaneni called it a violation of the World Trade Organization norms. India, the top export destination for Afghan goods, has thrown open a tariff-free access to Afghan businessmen to the Indian markets, operationalizing a dedicated air freight corridor between the two nations. The Indian ambassador said New Delhi supported Afghan traders, issuing several hundred gratis, long-term business visas. This, he said, was done as the Afghan businessmen suffered at the hands of Pakistan due to the “unprecedented trade and transit terrorism” through the denial of passage to their goods.

“The cynical closure of access for this land-locked country is in total violation of UN declarations on land-locked developing countries and a clear weaponization of their trade and transit vulnerabilities. This blatant Pakistani violation of WTO norms and of the UN charter and international law should be condemned by the global community,” Parvathaneni said.

India’s stand on Pakistan’s terrorism

On Pakistan’s part, its UN permanent representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the UNSC that the most recent secretary general report on Afghanistan seemed to largely “externalise” the responsibilities for Kabul’s multifaceted challenges. “The fatalities of terrorists and their supporters because of CT (counterterror) operations are mentioned within the ambit of ‘civilian casualties’, posing serious questions on the credibility of Unama’s reporting from Afghanistan and the nature of their engagement with the Taliban,” Ahmad said.

Countering Pakistan’s bid to discredit Unama and question the secretary-general’s report, the Indian permanent representative said: “We would like to stress that support for multilateralism and the United Nations is not à la carte menu.” Voicing its steadfast position of rejecting all forms and manifestations of terrorism, Parvathaneni said, “Only coordinated efforts of the international community can ensure that ISIL and al Qaeda and their affiliates, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Muhammed and proxies of LeT such as The Resistance Front, along with those who facilitate their operations, no longer indulge in cross-border terrorism.” He also called upon the international community to work together towards this “noble goal”.