India calls out Pakistan’s military coup at UN, targets Asim Munir’s power grab and 'lifetime immunity'

A broken frame of Pakistan's field marshal and army chief, Asim Munir, hangs on the wall after an attack at the Cadet College Wana, a military-linked school, in the South Waziristan district near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, on November 13, 2025. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)

India criticized Pakistan at the UN, highlighting military dominance after the 27th Amendment granted lifetime immunity to Chief of Defence Forces Asim Munir. India urged Pakistan to introspect on democracy before accusing New Delhi of aggression over Operation Sindoor.

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India has launched a sharp attack on Pakistan’s military establishment at the United Nations, calling out what it described as a constitutional takeover engineered by the armed forces and the unprecedented concentration of power in the hands of Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Speaking during a UN Security Council Open Debate on Monday, India’s Permanent Representative Parvathaneni Harish openly questioned Pakistan’s claims on democracy and rule of law, urging Islamabad to look inward before lecturing others.

“Pakistan is well advised to introspect about the rule of law. It could start by asking itself how it has let its armed forces engineer a constitutional coup through the 27th amendment and giving life-time immunity to its Chief of Defence Forces,” Harish said.

While Munir was not named directly, the reference was unmistakable.

Asim Munir’s rise to absolute power

Pakistan’s Parliament passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment in November last year, a move that formalised military dominance over the civilian state. The amendment created the post of Chief of Defence Forces and placed all three services, the army, navy and air force, under a single commander.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recommended Asim Munir for the post, making him Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Forces for a five-year term. The amendment also granted Munir lifetime immunity from arrest and prosecution, a provision that has alarmed rights groups and foreign observers.

The changes effectively ensure Munir’s hold on power until at least 2030, cementing what critics have described as Pakistan’s biggest military power grab yet. The move stripped civilian institutions of meaningful oversight and entrenched the army as the supreme authority in constitutional matters.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk had earlier warned that the amendment was rushed through “without broad consultation and debate with the legal community and wider civil society.”

India calls out Pakistan’s hypocrisy

India’s remarks at the UN came as Pakistan attempted to raise Operation Sindoor during the Security Council debate. Islamabad once again accused New Delhi of aggression, prompting a blistering response.

“I now respond to the comments of the representative of Pakistan, an elected member of the Security Council, which has a single-point agenda to harm my country and my people. He has advanced a false and self-serving account of Operation Sindoor in May last year,” Harish said.

India reiterated that Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, 2025, was a targeted counter-terror operation against terror infrastructure in Pakistan, carried out after the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.

“This august body itself called for holding the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and brought to justice. That is exactly what we did,” Harish said.

He added that India’s response was “measured, non-escalatory and responsible,” and made it clear that Pakistan had sought de-escalation after suffering the consequences.

Pakistan’s military state exposed

India’s intervention laid bare what New Delhi sees as the core problem with Pakistan. A country where the constitution has been rewritten to protect one general, where the military enjoys immunity from law, and where elected leaders function largely as facilitators of army rule.

By raising the 27th Amendment and Munir’s unchecked authority at the UN, India placed Pakistan’s military-dominated governance under global scrutiny, exposing the widening gap between Islamabad’s democratic claims and its authoritarian reality.

For New Delhi, the message was blunt. A state run by generals with lifetime immunity has little standing to sermonise on peace, legality or international norms.