Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Parvathaneni Harish speaks at United Nations Security Council. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
India has strongly rejected Pakistan’s remarks at the United Nations, asserting that cooperation under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) cannot be expected when ‘cross-border terrorism’ is used as an ‘instrument of state policy’.
India also maintained that Jammu and Kashmir ‘has always been, is, and will remain’ an integral and inalienable part of the country.
The remarks were made on Wednesday (July 22, 2026), by India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, at the High-Level Open Debate of the UN Security Council on Natural Resources Governance: the Foundation of Peace, Security and Prosperity.
Responding to Pakistan, Mr. Parvathaneni said India was compelled to reply after Islamabad ‘misused’ the discussion to push a ‘false narrative’.
“Our position on the Indus Water Treaty remains clear and consistent. Cooperation on the basis of mutual trust and goodwill cannot be expected when cross-border terrorism is regularly deployed as an instrument of state policy,” Mr. Parvathaneni said.
India’s sharp rebuttal came after Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, accused New Delhi of ‘weaponising water’ by placing the IWT in abeyance, calling the move ‘illegal’ and claiming it threatened the livelihoods of more than 240 million Pakistanis.
The IWT, signed in 1960, is a World Bank-brokered agreement between India and Pakistan that governs the sharing of the waters of the six rivers of the Indus basin, allocating the eastern rivers to India and the western rivers largely to Pakistan.
India put the IWT in abeyance following the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack, saying cooperation under the agreement cannot continue in the face of cross-border terrorism.
“As for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, it has always been, is, and will remain an integral and inalienable part of India. This is the constitutional and legal reality that Pakistan deliberately chooses to ignore,” the Indian envoy said while exercising India’s right of reply during the UN Security Council open debate.
“The only outstanding issue with regard to Jammu and Kashmir is the naked aggression and illegal occupation of India’s sovereign territory by Pakistan. Instead of pointing fingers at India, Pakistan would serve itself and its people far better by putting its own house in order,” he added.
During his address, Mr. Parvathaneni said the “illicit exploitation and trafficking of natural resources can, in certain situations, contribute to the financing of armed groups and prolong conflict,” but stressed that natural resources should primarily serve as an engine of development and prosperity for sovereign states.
He also highlighted that the primary responsibility for the governance and management of natural resources rests with sovereign states and called for transparent, accountable and nationally owned governance, along with responsible supply chains, greater transparency and stronger international cooperation to curb illicit exploitation of natural resources.
Published – July 23, 2026 01:32 pm IST
