ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday accused India of having “elevated propaganda into statecraft”, embraced disinformation as diplomacy and “exported terrorism as an instrument of policy”, as Islamabad hit back at remarks made by the Indian representative at the UN General Assembly.
In a reply to the Indian representative’s statement during the general debate of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Counsellor Saima Saleem termed India a state “that has elevated propaganda into statecraft, embraced disinformation as diplomacy, exports terrorism as an instrument of policy, pursues hegemony as a regional strategy, mainstreamed Islamophobia and institutionalised Hindutva ideology”.
She said India’s “terrorist exports have gone from regional to global”, citing former Indian naval commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, convicted in Pakistan on terrorism and espionage charges, and Nikhil Gupta, who pleaded guilty in the US to plotting the murder of a Sikh leader at the direction of the Indian government. She also referred to “others implicated in assassinations carried out in Canada”.
Turning to the Kashmir dispute, the counsellor said, “Jammu and Kashmir never was, neither is, nor will ever be an integral part of India. It is an internationally recognised disputed territory.”
Ms Saleem added that “Muslims are demonised [in India]; Christians persecuted; Dalits dehumanised; and Sikhs disenfranchised in the largest hypocrisy in the world”.
Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2026
