India Slams Pakistan At UN, Questions Masood Azhar’s Whereabouts And Operation Sindoor ‘Victory’ Claim

India has accused Pakistan at the United Nations of providing safe havens and political cover to terrorist groups, while questioning Islamabad’s claim that it does not know the whereabouts of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief and UN-designated terrorist Masood Azhar.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee, India’s first secretary Raghoo Puri challenged Pakistan’s recent decision to announce a bounty for information leading to Azhar’s capture. Puri pointed to media reports that had located and interviewed Azhar and obtained his comments on the outcome of Operation Sindoor.

“When the media can find Masood Azhar and get confirmation from him about the success of Operation Sindoor, surely the Pakistani state knows his whereabouts?” Puri said while exercising India’s right of reply.

India also rejected Pakistan’s portrayal of Operation Sindoor as a victory for Islamabad. Puri referred to damage inflicted on Pakistani military infrastructure during the operation, including airfields and runways.

“If bombed out airfields and cratered runways look like victory to Pakistan, then they are welcome to enjoy it,” he said.

Puri accused Pakistan of presenting itself internationally as both a frontline state against terrorism and a victim of terrorism while allegedly shielding groups it had previously supported.

“Pakistan has presented itself as a frontline state in combating terrorism and as a victim, while masking the fact that the Frankenstein's monster the Pakistani state has created and lost control over have moved from wreaking havoc in neighbouring countries to doing the same in Pakistan,” he said.

He cited remarks by a Pakistani provincial chief minister about the impact of terrorism inside the country, arguing that militant groups once allegedly supported by the state were increasingly turning their violence inward.

Puri also referred to a 2018 interview by the chief minister’s father, a former Pakistani prime minister, which he said had highlighted the alleged relationship between Pakistan’s state institutions and militant groups.

India argued that Pakistan could not simultaneously portray itself as a victim of terrorism while providing support or political cover to groups accused of carrying out attacks.

“You cannot run with the hares and hunt with the hounds,” Puri said, adding, “Reality never works like that.”

India has repeatedly urged the international community to take stronger action against countries accused of sponsoring or sheltering terrorism, with Pakistan remaining a central focus of its criticism at international forums.