India refutes Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif’s May conflict “victory” claims at UNGA
New Delhi
India on Saturday ridiculed Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s claim of “victory” in the May 7-10 conflict, telling the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that images of destroyed air bases and damaged military infrastructure during Operation Sindoor painted a very different picture.
Exercising India’s right of reply at the 80th UNGA session, Petal Gahlot, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, said the evidence was plain for the world to see.
“The intervening event was the destruction caused to multiple Pakistani air bases 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,” Gahlot said.
Sharif had used his UNGA speech to portray Pakistan as the winner in the brief military escalation with India in May. “We have won the war, and now we seek to win peace in our part of the world. Pakistan, stands ready for a composite, comprehensive, and result-oriented dialogue with India on all outstanding issues,” he claimed.
However, Gahlot dismissed Sharif’s version outright and said the sequence of events pointed to a very different reality.
“The Prime Minister of Pakistan also advanced a bizarre account of the recent conflict with India. The record on this matter is clear. Till May 9, Pakistan was threatening more attacks on India. But on May 10, its military pleaded with us directly for a cessation to the fighting,” she stressed.
She added that Pakistan was once again responsible for a terrorist attack on Indian civilians and that New Delhi had acted decisively to defend its people.
“The truth is that, as in the past, Pakistan is responsible for a terrorist attack on innocent civilians in India. We have exercised the right to defend our people against such actions and have brought the organisers and perpetrators to justice,” Gahlot said.