India tells UN Pakistan is occupying territory and calls Indus Water Treaty outdated

India has accused Pakistan of illegal occupation and support for terrorism during a right of reply at the United Nations, in a sharp exchange that also saw New Delhi describe the Indus Water Treaty as outdated. The remarks were delivered during an Interactive Dialogue on the UN High Commissioner's annual report, where India used its response to restate its position on Jammu and Kashmir. The intervention adds to a long-running diplomatic dispute between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, this time played out on the UN stage.

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First Secretary Anupama Singh, speaking for India's Permanent Mission to the UN, called Pakistan a "living example of a Frankenstein state" and said the only unresolved issue was Pakistan's "illegal occupation of Indian territories and their return." She said Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India." Singh also rejected what she described as baseless and malicious allegations from Pakistan and references made by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, saying they were intended to divert attention from Pakistan's internal challenges and its support for terrorism. India's remarks also focused on the situation in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which Singh said reflected repression and violence under occupation. She referred to the "ongoing tragedy" in Rawalakot and said the events there were a predictable outcome of a system built on forcible occupation.

The comments came after a security operation on 14 June in Rawalakot that left at least two people dead and multiple others injured, according to the supplied material. The same material says the operation dispersed protesters who had gathered for a sit-in at the Eidgah site, and that it was followed by communication disruptions and restrictions on the movement of essential supplies. The exchange matters because it brings together three sensitive issues that have repeatedly shaped India-Pakistan relations: Kashmir, cross-border accusations of terrorism, and the future of the Indus Water Treaty.

The treaty, signed in 1960, has long been one of the few durable agreements between the two countries and governs the sharing of river waters from the Indus system. By calling it outdated, India signalled that even long-standing technical arrangements are now being pulled into the wider political dispute. The remarks also underline how the Kashmir issue continues to surface in multilateral forums despite being a bilateral flashpoint for decades.

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India has consistently maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of its territory, while Pakistan has challenged that position and raised the issue in international settings. The latest statement shows that both sides continue to use the UN arena to restate their positions, even when the immediate agenda concerns human rights or annual reporting rather than regional security. The supplied material links the UN intervention to unrest in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, including earlier violent clashes that reportedly left at least 20 people dead and several others injured more than a week before the Rawalakot operation.

It also says the Joint Awami Action Committee alleged that security forces dispersed protesters and disrupted communications and supplies. Those details suggest the diplomatic row is unfolding alongside local unrest, giving the dispute a domestic as well as international dimension. What remains unclear is whether the exchange will lead to any formal response from Pakistan at the UN or any follow-up in bilateral channels.

It is also not clear whether India's description of the Indus Water Treaty as outdated signals a policy shift or was intended mainly as a political message. For now, the immediate focus is on the latest UN confrontation, the situation in Rawalakot, and whether either side escalates the dispute further in the coming days.

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