External Affairs Minister tells UN General Assembly that bids to claim immunity for terrorism will not stand

Why in the News

India told the United Nations General Assembly that attempts to normalise terrorism and claim immunity from its consequences will not stand. Pakistan’s Prime Minister had raised Kashmir there a day earlier and called India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty an act of war.

What is the Indus Waters Treaty and why is it in abeyance?

1. River division: The treaty divides the Indus basin rivers between India and Pakistan, working like a title deed over river water.
2. Origin in Partition: Partition left the works feeding the canals in India and the irrigated land in Pakistan, so the two signed in 1960 with the World Bank as a signatory.
3. What changed: India put the treaty in abeyance after the Pahalgam terror attack of April 2025, stopping performance without ending it. Revival needs Pakistan credibly ending cross border terrorism.
4. The takeaway: India has tied Pakistan’s water share to ending terrorism, so a water settlement now turns on behaviour rather than geography.

What did India put to the Assembly on terrorism?

1. Serial practitioner charge: India named Pakistan a serial practitioner of terrorism.
2. State sponsorship of terrorism: India called terrorism with state backing and cross border reach a direct affront to the global order, and said sponsoring governments must be held accountable.
3. Self defence and terror financing: India said it will exercise self defence, that friendship cannot coexist with terrorism and that terror financing must be exposed.

How did India answer the Kashmir claim?

1. Right of Reply: India answered through the Right of Reply, a state’s short answer to another’s speech at the Assembly.
2. Territorial position restated: India described Jammu and Kashmir as an Indian Union Territory, an integral and inalienable part of India.
3. Plebiscite claim rejected: Pakistan asked the United Nations to deliver a plebiscite, a vote on which country a territory joins. India rejected that and the alleged demographic change.
4. The counter charge: India recalled that the 9/11 mastermind lived beside Pakistan’s premier army academy, and said Pakistan claims to uphold security by day and carries out terrorism by night.
5. Rights inside Pakistan: India pointed to killings in Rawalakot in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and to the treatment of minorities there.

What does the weaponisation of everything mean?

1. Weaponisation of everything: India used the phrase for economic links turned into instruments of pressure, so countries far from the West Asia, Russia Ukraine and Israel Gaza conflicts are penalised.
2. Chokepoints in six domains: Extreme competition creates chokepoints, single points others must pass through, in finance, market access, supply chains, technology, resources and connectivity.
3. Tariffs on Russian energy buyers: A new United States law authorises tariffs up to 100 per cent on Russian energy buyers, including India, so nations are de risking and diversifying.
4. Global South and sea lanes: Developing countries face a 4F crisis, insecurity of food, fuel, fertiliser and finance. India has lost over 10 seafarers in the Strait of Hormuz and Black Sea.
5. Stability, security and predictability: Peace is more than the absence of war, and weakens if stability, security or predictability is undermined.

Challenges

1. Abeyance has no treaty basis: The treaty carries no clause letting one side suspend it, so the step rests on political decision.
2. Limited physical leverage: India lacks the storage and diversion capacity on the western rivers to change flows quickly.
3. Assembly statements bind nobody: A General Assembly speech creates no obligation, so accountability depends on other forums.

Way Forward

1. Build what the treaty allows: Complete the storage and power projects the treaty already permits on the western rivers.
2. Terror financing route: Take Pakistan’s record to the Financial Action Task Force, which grades countries on countering terror financing.
3. Secure the sea lanes jointly: Expand naval escort cooperation and attack reporting with Indian Ocean partners.

Conclusion

The Assembly exchange has turned a water sharing treaty into counter terrorism pressure. Watch whether another member state adopts that condition, because pressure applied alone can be waited out.

Back2Basics: Indus Waters Treaty

1. Rivers to each side: The Ravi, Beas and Sutlej go to India, the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab to Pakistan.
2. What India may still do: India may use the western rivers for non consumptive purposes, limited irrigation and run of the river power, which stores no water.
3. How a dispute is settled: The Permanent Indus Commission handles questions first, differences go to a Neutral Expert and disputes to a Court of Arbitration.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2016, GS1, 12.5 marks] Present an account of the Indus Water Treaty and examine its ecological, economic and political implications in the context of changing bilateral relations.”