India’s young diplomat Anmol Sher Singh Bedi delivered a pointed rebuttal to Pakistan at the ongoing 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee, challenging Islamabad over terrorism, nuclear proliferation and regional instability while asserting New Delhi’s right to defend itself against cross-border terror attacks.
“The Indus Water Treaty, when it was signed, rested on good faith and goodwill. His intervention combined a defence of India’s security policies with a broader warning that nuclear weapons must not become a shield for activities that threaten regional peace. Bedi also argued that calls for restraint cannot be separated from accountability for the actions that trigger a crisis. “However, if there is no accountability for reckless actions, then peace merely becomes a pause between crises. His remarks framed the treaty dispute as part of a wider argument about mutual obligations, trust and accountability between the two countries. “A posture that relies on nuclear overhang to limit the consequences of subconventional activity raises the risk of escalation and not the prospect of restraint.
Addressing the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians, Bedi said India’s subsequent military action in May was undertaken in self-defence.
“India does not seek conflict,” he said, concluding his remarks. A state cannot undermine those foundations of trust and cooperation and at the same time insist that the privileges flowing from the relationship remain untouched,” Bedi said. “We urge all states and all responsible suppliers to exercise the highest degree of vigilance, not because of India, but for their own security,” he said, cautioning against unquestioning nuclear cooperation and transfers of advanced military capabilities. “Nuclear weapons must not be treated as routine instruments of statecraft,” he said. In his closing remarks, the diplomat said India remained committed to peace but argued that durable stability required accountability for actions that endangered it.
