India slammed Pakistan for making “unwarranted” remarks on Jammu and Kashmir at an informal UN Security Council meeting organised by Beijing and Islamabad, asserting that the Union Territory is a matter “strictly internal” to the country.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, made the remarks on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) at an Arria-formula meeting of the Security Council on ‘Bridging the Implementation Gap: Security Council Resolutions and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security’.

“I also refer to the unwarranted remarks made by the representative of Pakistan. It is incredible that a co-chair expected to be balanced and unbiased in conduct has chosen to politicise this forum,” Mr. Harish said.

“I would only like to stress, for brevity of time, that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is a matter strictly internal to India. It has always been, is, and will remain so,” he said.

Mr. Harish’s remarks came after Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, raised the Jammu and Kashmir issue during his intervention at the meeting, which was organised by the Permanent Missions of Pakistan and China to the United Nations.

Pakistan is currently serving an elected two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for 2025 and 2026.

India has consistently maintained that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of the country.

Relations between India and Pakistan have remained strained over the Kashmir issue, with New Delhi firmly rejecting any third-party mediation and maintaining that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter.

Arria-formula meetings are informal and confidential gatherings that allow Security Council members and invited participants to exchange views in a flexible setting. The format is named after former Venezuelan ambassador Diego Arria, who initiated the practice in 1992.

Elaborating on the broader subject under discussion, Mr. Harish said the UN Security Council is entrusted with the maintenance of international peace and security and that the UN Charter provides distinct mechanisms for addressing conflicts under Chapters VI and VII.

He noted that these two Chapters are distinct in nature and their applicability varies.

Mr. Harish said Chapter VII measures are “aimed at maintenance or restoration of international peace and security” in situations involving threats to peace, breaches of peace and acts of aggression, and their non-implementation could lead to “serious consequences”.

Chapter VI, the Envoy said, is “fundamentally different” and offers a wide-ranging set of options to deal with situations whose continuance is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security.

The proposed tools that could be considered include negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, and arbitration after taking into account any procedures that may have already been adopted bilaterally by the parties concerned.

“These interventions are drawn up in order to address the prevailing realities and do not have perpetual validity. They warrant a review in accordance with changing circumstances and contexts,” Mr. Harish said.

“Multi-decadal issues on the UNSC agenda offer valuable lessons in this regard. A case in point is the Palestine issue, wherein a defining feature is the constant churn of mediation frameworks in tune with the changing circumstances of the conflict.

“There exists an undeniable case for reviewing outdated mediation frameworks. Any assumption of the perpetual applicability of a Chapter VI mediation intervention is erroneous to say the least,” he said.

India also underlined that, as member states undertake reviews of UN General Assembly mandates under the UN80 initiative to improve efficiency, there is no reason why Security Council mandates should remain outside the scope of such reviews.

India has long been pressing for permanent membership in a reformed and expanded Security Council, contending that the current structure of the 15-member body is outdated and does not adequately reflect contemporary global realities.

New Delhi’s candidature has received backing from a growing number of countries, including several European nations, as well as the other members of the G4 grouping — Brazil, Germany and Japan.

UNSC comprises five permanent members — China, France, Russia, the UK and the US — and 10 non-permanent members, including India, elected for two-year terms.

Published – June 24, 2026 12:38 pm IST

India voiced its firm opposition to attacks on merchant shipping amid the ongoing Iran conflict, as it told the UN Security Council that several of its nationals have died or are missing due to attacks in the region.

“We expressed our deep concern at the conflict in Iran and the Gulf region that unfortunately began in the holy month of Ramadan and urged all sides to exercise restraint, avoid escalation and prioritise the safety of civilians,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni said on Wednesday (June 10, 2026).

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Addressing the UN Security Council open debate on ‘Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Advancing Political Solutions in the Middle East: Mediation and Dialogue for Lasting Peace’, Mr. Parvathaneni said India is firmly opposed to attacks on merchant shipping, as many of its nationals are prominent in its global workforce.

“Many Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing as a result of attacks against countries of the region and against merchant vessels and sea lanes of communication,” he said.

Mr. Parvathaneni’s remarks in the Security Council came just hours after India summoned U.S. charge d’affaires Jason Meeks in New Delhi and lodged a strong protest over a U.S. attack on commercial tanker Settebello with 24 Indian crew members off the coast of Oman.

Three of the 24 crew members on board the vessel went missing following the attack.

The attack on Settebello came two days after a Palau-flagged vessel with 24 Indians came under attack of the U.S. Navy as the ship tried to evade the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

Mr. Parvathaneni noted that there are almost 10 million Indian citizens who live and work in the Gulf region and underscored that their safety and well-being are of utmost priority to India.

“Our trade and energy supply chains are dependent on stability in the region and any major disruption has serious consequences for the Indian economy,” he said, adding that the intensification of the Iran conflict and its spread to other nations have evoked great anxiety.

“The mounting destruction and deaths and cessation of normal life and economic activities have deeply impacted India, a proximate neighbour with critical stakes in the security and stability of the region,” he said.

India strongly reiterated its call for dialogue and diplomacy, avoiding impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, avoiding military targeting of commercial shipping, avoiding targeting of the civilian population and infrastructure, and seeking an early end to the conflict. New Delhi also expressed its support for all efforts aimed at the peaceful resolution of issues.

India voiced deep concern over the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, noting the immense humanitarian and human toll in terms of loss of lives, injuries and large-scale displacement of vulnerable civilian populations, impediments to freedom of navigation and consequent impact on global flow of commerce, including massive disruptions to established supply chains and global energy supplies.

India said the situation in Gaza has grave humanitarian implications that call for a sustained ceasefire, humanitarian access and a credible pathway towards a durable and peaceful resolution based on a negotiated two-state solution with a sovereign, independent, viable State of Palestine, living side by side in peace and security with Israel, within secure and recognised borders.

“This remains the only path to achieve lasting peace and overall prosperity,” Parvathaneni said.

He told the Council that India will be handing over 2.5 million dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the next few days, which will be the first tranche of Delhi’s annual five-million-dollar contribution to the agency.

Amid the crisis in Lebanon, India called for respect for Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, emphasising that Indian troops are deployed in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

“We call for ensuring the safety and security of peacekeepers. They carry out a vital mandate entrusted by this Council, and they must not be targeted. India will also be sending medical assistance to Lebanon,” he said.

India has condemned attacks against UN peacekeepers deployed in Lebanon and called for an immediate and thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice. India further emphasised that mediation frameworks, once created, are not fit for purpose forever.

“If they fail to fulfil their mandated tasks and new realities emerge that make such earlier frameworks redundant, we must adapt and continue our efforts in tune with the new realities,” Mr. Parvathaneni said.

Citing the example of the Palestine issue, he said it is replete with outdated mediation frameworks that are not relevant in today’s context.

“Today’s Gaza Peace Plan and the Board of Peace framework are very distinct as compared to earlier frameworks,” he said.

India told the Council that raging conflicts in different parts of the world and the immeasurable human suffering are driving factors for the UN facing questions related to legitimacy, credibility and efficacy.

“The perception about this organisation has changed considerably among the world citizenry due to its inability to address conflict situations. A primary reason has been an eight-decade-old, outdated architecture of the Security Council, the principal UN organ that is tasked with maintenance of international peace and security,” he said, as Delhi called for implementing real reforms, through expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories in line with current geopolitical realities.

Published – June 11, 2026 09:29 am IST