Jaishankar Rebuts Pakistani Reporter at UNGA, Flags Maritime Threats
S Jaishankar rebuffed a Pakistani reporter's question at a UNGA press briefing and highlighted growing threats to commercial shipping and Indian seafarers.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar pushed back sharply on Friday when a Pakistani journalist interrupted a press briefing at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, asking when his government would stop "sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan."
His reply was brief and pointed: "A terrorist country is asking me that question."
The exchange came at the close of a press conference Jaishankar held alongside Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Liberia. The briefing had been scheduled as a remarks-only event and focused on the Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers.
Jaishankar is leading the Indian delegation during the High-Level Week of the 81st UNGA session. He has already taken part in a series of plurilateral and bilateral meetings and is due to address the High-Level Session on Saturday.
Cross-border terrorism
The moment underscored New Delhi's continuing demand that Islamabad take credible action against cross-border terrorism. Tensions remain acute after the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April 2025, in which 26 civilians were killed, and the subsequent launch of Operation Sindoor. India's response has drawn recognition from a number of countries, and global condemnation of the Pahalgam attack was recorded in a UN Security Council press statement issued in April 2025.
At international forums, India has kept up its campaign against terror financing and safe havens, efforts that have led to the listing of several terrorist entities and individuals sheltered in Pakistan. By repeatedly raising Islamabad's failure to dismantle financial support networks for terrorists, New Delhi has kept operations originating from Pakistani territory under close international scrutiny.
Attacks on shipping
Turning to maritime security, Jaishankar spoke about a joint India-Liberia initiative that has brought together a coalition of countries to confront escalating threats to commercial shipping and seafarers.
He recounted a string of recent incidents involving Indian nationals. Two days earlier, an Indian sailor was killed when the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier MV Cape Dove was attacked in the Gulf of Oman. Ten days before that, an Indian crew member went missing after the Panama-flagged oil tanker El Gaya was struck in the Strait of Hormuz.
"These, regrettably, are no longer exceptional occurrences," Jaishankar said.
He also recalled earlier incidents in the Black Sea. The chief officer of the MV Omorfi, an Indian national, was killed when the vessel was hit in Russian territorial waters on 18 July. The following day, four Indian seafarers died after the MV Golden Leo was struck after departing Odessa. Casualties, he acknowledged, extended well beyond Indian nationals.
"From the Black Sea to the Red Sea to the Gulf, attacks on civilian shipping have become a growing cause of concern," Jaishankar said, adding that actions disrupting maritime commerce and costing innocent lives are "simply indefensible."
Urging countries to work together to deter such attacks, he pointed to the scale of the stakes: international trade exceeds $140 billion a day, more than 80 per cent of it supported by the oceans, and nearly two million seafarers crew the world's merchant fleets. The crisis, he stressed, reaches far beyond any single shipping route.