Overview
- During a UN General Assembly Third Committee dialogue, Pakistani diplomat Muhammad Jawad Ajmal described attackers against India as freedom fighters exercising a right to resist occupation.
- Indian representative Raghoo Puri called the remarks doublespeak and labeled Pakistan an epicentre of terrorism with links to attacks targeting civilians worldwide.
- India referenced the 1994 General Assembly declaration, the 1999 convention on terror financing, and a 2004 Security Council resolution to argue no UN instrument legitimises terrorism.
- Pakistan alleged India’s counterterrorism actions violate human rights and claimed the UN’s counterterrorism framework unfairly singles out one religion, which India rejected as a diversion.
- Both interventions highlighted the long-stalled push for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, blocked for roughly 19 years by disputes over exempting groups termed freedom fighters.