At UNGA, Shehbaz Sharif spins May conflict, Kashmir and Indus Treaty to paint Pakistan as victim

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks at the 80th session of The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 26, 2025 in New York City.

At the 80th UN General Assembly, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tried to paint his country as a victim of “external aggression” while boasting of what he called a “bloody nose” delivered to India. In a speech heavy on self-praise but light on facts, Sharif claimed Pakistan had repelled an unprovoked Indian attack and shot down seven Indian fighter jets -- assertions that remain completely unverified and dismissed by Indian officials as propaganda.

Sharif also accused India of politicising the Pahalgam terror incident, which killed scores of civilians, while rejecting Islamabad’s offer for an “independent probe”. He went further, alleging Indian strikes on Pakistani cities and civilians without presenting any evidence.

In his speech, Sharif lauded Pakistan’s armed forces under “Field Marshal” Asim Munir and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Babar Sidhu for their “professionalism and bravery”, casting the military’s actions as a decisive victory. Yet, outside Pakistan’s state-controlled media, there is no corroboration of the so-called success he described.

In fact, satellite imagery have cemented India's stand of delivery massive blow to Pakistan's terror hubs and its military infrastructure across the country, including his critical Nur Khan airbase.

Perhaps most striking was his effusive praise for US President Donald Trump, whom he credited for “helping broker a timely ceasefire” to prevent a wider South Asian war. This public flattery stood in contrast to Pakistan’s long record of harbouring terrorists, the very factor India blames for the Pahalgam attack.

“Who would have lived to tell what happened? And therefore, in recognition of Trump’s wonderful and outstanding contribution to promoting peace in our part of the world, Pakistan nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. I think this is the least we can do for his love of peace — truly, he is a man of peace,” he said.

India has time and again rejected Trump's claim of brokering the ceasefire with Pakistan on May 10, maintaining that it was a result of DGMO-level talks between the two countries, after Pakistan requested the same.

Sharif further cried foul on India's decision to put in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty, calling it an "act of war."

“Pakistan has made it abundantly clear and let there be no doubt once again in anybody's mind, as I said last year in this hall from this podium, we will definitely defend the inseparable right of our 240 million people on these waters. To us, any violation of this IWT represents an act of war.”

Once again, he made a desperate attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue, seeking an intervention by the UN.

India has made it clear that terror and talks cannot go together and suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan until Islamabad took verifiable steps to tackle cross-border terrorism. It has time and again made its stand clear that Kashmir is an integral part of India and remains a bilateral issue, rejecting any third-party mediation.

Raising Kashmir from the UN podium was little more than a rehearsed provocation and a bid for sympathy while sidestepping Pakistan’s own record. Instead of offering any fresh evidence or credible route to meaningful dialogue, he recycled long-debunked talking points and used the international stage to score political points at India’s expense.