India slams OIC's 'willful blindness' at UN, blocks action against terror infrastructure in Pakistan, PoK

India on Tuesday criticized the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the UN General Assembly, rejecting its remarks on Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhi’s actions against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK).

Reacting to the OIC chairman’s statement, BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb accused the group of failing to “differentiate between the victim and the perpetrator”.

“I am now reacting to the OIC Chairman’s statement regarding India’s targeted and measured action against the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, from where terrorist attacks against India were planned and directed,” Deb told the UN General Assembly.

“It is unfortunate that the speaker is unable to distinguish between fact and fiction and is unable to distinguish between the victim and the perpetrator,” he said.

“India has every right to protect its people from terrorism on the border coming from Pakistan. The consequences of involvement in terrorism will not be tolerated,” added Deb.

Deb, a Lok Sabha MP from West Tripura, delivered India’s national statement at the UN General Assembly’s 6th Committee on “Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism”. He is part of a 15-member parliamentary delegation that came to New York for the UN Familiarization Week.

India on cross-border terrorism

Deb said India understands from “bitter experience” that terrorism is not a theoretical threat but a “permanent and day-to-day reality”.

“This threat has serious implications for international peace and security, economic progress, democratic institutions and human rights. It attacks the most basic right of every human being – the right to life,” he said.

“For decades, our people have suffered from cross-border terrorism,” Deb said, referring to the long-standing security problem facing India.

He also cited the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year, in which 26 tourists were killed, as an example of the devastating human cost of terrorism.

“The terrorist attack on Pahalgam was a premeditated attack on our sovereignty, planned and executed by networks that continue to enjoy state patronage, safe havens and material and logistical support across our western border,” he said.

“Terrorism is against the values of the United Nations. Deliberate targeting of civilians can never be justified in any way. There is no difference between good and bad terrorism. India considers terrorist attacks as crimes against humanity,” Deb said.

“As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, ‘We consider even one attack too many and even one life lost is too many,'” he added.

India hits back at OIC over Kashmir

Deb also criticized the OIC’s stance on Jammu and Kashmir, urging the group to focus instead on Pakistan’s control over the territory claimed by India.

“The OIC chairman would do better to focus on Pakistan’s illegal occupation, especially in Rawalakot, where wanton killings, brutal violence and denial of basic rights to the people living there are so visible,” Deb said.

“Such willful blindness speaks only of fanaticism and intolerance,” he added.

His remarks came a day after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected references to Jammu and Kashmir by the OIC contact group, calling them “unwarranted and factually incorrect”.

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In a statement shared on X, the MEA said the OIC has no standing to speak on matters that are strictly internal to India.

India’s response followed a meeting of the OIC contact group on Jammu and Kashmir in New York, comprising Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Niger.

During the meeting, the group reaffirmed its support for what it described as the “right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination”.