Does Pakistan know the taste of victory? Yes — in ‘destroyed runways and burnt-out hangars’ says India at UN
At the UN, India condemned Pakistan's portrayal of recent conflict as absurd theatrics. India's First Secretary accused Pakistan of celebrating damage to its airbases and protecting terrorists, in response to Sharif's claims of victory during military operations.
India on Friday delivered a sharp rebuttal to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s speech at the 80th United Nations General Assembly, condemning it as "absurd theatrics" that glorified terrorism and ridiculed his claims of victory during the May conflict.
During India’s right of reply, Petal Gahlot, First Secretary at India's Permanent Mission to the UN, criticised the Pakistani Prime Minister for portraying the damage to their airbases as a triumph. She further accused Islamabad of protecting terrorists and spreading “ludicrous narratives” to cover up its role as a centre of terrorism.
Watch India's reply:
“The Prime Minister of Pakistan also advanced a bizarre account of the recent conflict with India. The record on this matter is clear. Till 9 May, Pakistan was threatening more attacks on India. But on 10 May, its military pleaded with us directly for a cessation to the fighting. The intervening event was the destruction caused to multiple Pakistani airbases by Indian forces. The pictures of that damage are, of course, publicly accessible. If destroyed runways and burnt-out hangars look like victory, as the Prime Minister claimed, Pakistan is welcome to enjoy it,” she said.
India has consistently maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two militaries.
Gahlot highlighted at the UN General Assembly that it was Pakistan that had in the UN Security Council on April 25 “shielded” ‘The Resistance Front’, from the responsibility of carrying out the barbaric massacre of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir.
“No degree of drama and no level of lies can conceal the facts,” she said.
Gahlot pointed to Pakistan's April 25, 2025, actions at the UN Security Council, where it protected 'The Resistance Front', a Pakistan-sponsored terror outfit responsible for the massacre of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed 26 people on April 22.
Pakistan's “history of duplicity”
Highlighting Pakistan's "history of duplicity", Gahlot recalled its decade-long sheltering of Osama bin Laden while posing as a partner in the global war on terror, adding that Pakistani ministers had acknowledged operating terrorist camps for decades.
"A picture speaks a thousand words, and we saw many pictures of terrorists slain in Bahawalpur and Muridke terror complexes by Indian forces during Operation Sindoor. When senior Pakistani military and civilian officials publicly glorify and pay homage to such notorious terrorists, can there be any doubt about the proclivities of this regime?" the First Secretary added.
Is Sharif daydreaming?
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advanced a “bizarre” account of the recent conflict when India had launched Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, she said.
Sharif claimed that Pakistani forces had successfully repelled India’s attacks, boasting that seven Indian jets were reduced to “scrap and dust.”
In a sharp rebuttal, India responded, “If destroyed runways and burnt-out hangars look like victory, as the prime minister claimed, Pakistan is welcome to enjoy it.”
Following Operation Sindoor, a widely circulated photo showed Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Hafiz Abdul Rauf leading prayers for those killed in the strikes on LeT's Muridke headquarters, with the funeral attended by members of the Pakistan Army.
India successfully targeted and destroyed nine major terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), dealing a significant blow to groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen. The strikes resulted in the elimination of over 100 terrorists.
Unlike Shehbaz Sharif's hypothetical claims, India backed up the details of the strikes with press conferences held by top military officials, who provided evidence, including satellite images.
Despite Pakistan's repeated denials and misleading claims, India's actions have received backing from international observers, who have affirmed its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
(With inputs from agencies)