Jaishankar at UNGA: India Will Exercise Right to Defend Against Terrorism
S Jaishankar told the 81st UNGA that India will exercise its right to defend itself against terrorism and called for accountability over state-sponsored cross-border violence.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar used India's address at the 81st United Nations General Assembly to set out the country's positions on terrorism, the conflicts in Ukraine, the Gulf and West Asia, and mounting economic competition between nations.
Firm message on terrorism
In a pointed message delivered without naming Pakistan, Jaishankar said a "serial practitioner of terrorism" had misrepresented facts before the assembly a day earlier, and that attempts to normalise terrorism or claim immunity from its consequences would not be accepted.
"Our right to defend ourselves against terrorism will be exercised," he said, adding that friendship and goodwill cannot coexist with terrorism, and that understandings built on such a premise would be called into question. India's approach to terrorism would also shape its ties with countries involved in such activities, he indicated.
Describing terrorism as a persistent threat to peace, Jaishankar said state sponsorship and cross-border intent make it a direct affront to the global order. Governments indulging in such practices must be held accountable, he said, stressing that there should be no dilution of India's zero-tolerance approach and that the financial networks sustaining terrorism must be targeted.
Ukraine and the Gulf
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, now nearing its fifth year, Jaishankar reiterated India's support for diplomatic initiatives to end hostilities, quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call that endless war must give way to an end to war. He noted that countries far from conflicts are penalised through no fault of their own, and that those most affected often have the least say.
Turning to the Gulf, he voiced deep concern over continuing hostilities that are worsening an already difficult situation, and condemned attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers in international waterways as unacceptable. India urged all parties to exercise restraint, de-escalate, protect civilians and keep energy and commerce flowing without disruption.
West Asia and a fragmenting order
On the Israel-Palestine conflict, Jaishankar reaffirmed India's belief that a durable and lasting peace requires a two-state solution, while noting India's humanitarian assistance and relief efforts for the Palestinian people.
Warning against what he called a weaponisation of everything, he said a mindset of extreme competition is undermining institutions and creating chokepoints across finance, market access, supply chains and technology, with resources and connectivity increasingly used as strategic leverage. This, he said, is pushing countries towards de-risking and diversification.
Jaishankar closed on the theme that peace is not merely the absence of war. Continuous threats and pressures, he warned, leave the world on the edge of an abyss, and he called for stability, security and predictability as essential foundations for lasting peace.