India Hits Back at Shehbaz: “Absurd Theatrics” at the UN

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New York turned into a diplomatic boxing ring when Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used his UN General Assembly address to declare “victory” over India and accuse New Delhi of aggression, water theft, and tyranny in Kashmir. But India wasted no time in throwing punches back, dismissing the entire performance as nothing more than “absurd theatrics.”

Taking the floor under the UN’s right of reply, Indian diplomat Petal Gahlot dismantled Sharif’s claims point by point. She accused Pakistan of glorifying terrorism on the world stage while conveniently ignoring its own long history of harboring militants. “This is the same country that sheltered Osama bin Laden,” she said, “yet it dares to lecture the world on peace and justice.”

India poured scorn on Sharif’s dramatic boast that seven Indian jets had been reduced to scrap metal in the May conflict. New Delhi called the story bizarre fiction, arguing that the real story was Pakistan’s desperation to dress up damaged runways and a battered economy as some kind of military triumph. “If destroyed runways look like victory, Pakistan is welcome to celebrate,” was the acid reply from the Indian mission.

The Indian counterattack did not stop at mocking Sharif’s narrative. It went straight for Pakistan’s weak points, reminding the assembly that the country is run by a military establishment with a global reputation for breeding terror groups. The message was clear: Pakistan’s UN show was not about peace but about polishing its image while cross-border militancy continues.

India also issued a thinly veiled warning: if Pakistan persists in sponsoring terrorism, there will be “inevitable consequences.” The statement was calibrated to sound both defiant and dismissive, turning Sharif’s talk of peace into little more than a smokescreen.

Behind the sharp exchanges lies the familiar script of India-Pakistan battles at the UN. Pakistan uses the Kashmir card to win sympathy, while India counters by framing Pakistan as a terror state unfit to lecture anyone. This year’s twist was Sharif nominating Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize, claiming his intervention had saved South Asia from nuclear war. To Indian ears, that sounded like the punchline to a bad joke.

Diplomatic theater at the UN is nothing new, but the 2025 session has produced some of the sharpest, most personal rhetoric in years. India wants the world to see Pakistan’s speech as hollow drama. Pakistan wants to portray India as the aggressor. And the UN, once again, has become the stage for the subcontinent’s never-ending feud.