Bedi warned Pakistan that “any terrorist attack against India will receive a fitting response”, adding that New Delhi would “make no distinction between those who sponsor terrorism and those who mastermind it”.

Operation Sindoor was an act of self-defence, India says

Referring to Operation Sindoor, India’s military action against terrorist bases in Pakistan last year, Bedi said it followed the Pahalgam terror attack, in which Pakistan-based terrorists killed 26 civilians.
“India acted in self-defence,” he said, describing the operation as “measured, targeted, and designed to be non-escalatory”.

Addressing the UN General Assembly’s First Committee, which deals with disarmament issues, Bedi cautioned against treating nuclear weapons as routine tools of statecraft.

“Nuclear weapons must not be treated as routine instruments of statecraft,” he said, warning that relying on the threat of nuclear weapons to limit the consequences of lower-intensity hostile activities could increase the risk of escalation rather than encourage restraint.

Bedi was responding to remarks by Tahir Andrabi, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, at the committee’s meeting in New York.

India’s nuclear capabilities are defensive, Bedi says

Reassuring the committee about India’s nuclear policy, Bedi said the country’s nuclear capabilities were not directed against any particular nation and “are defensive in nature”.

“They are shaped by our own security environment,” he said.

India has declared a no-first-use policy on nuclear weapons, meaning it will not be the first to use them against another country. Pakistan has not adopted the same declared policy.

India flags Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation record

Bedi also raised concerns over Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation history, referring to the network run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, who headed the country’s nuclear programme. The network supplied nuclear weapons-related know-how to other countries and traded nuclear material for missile technology with North Korea.

He urged countries and suppliers involved in nuclear and military cooperation with Islamabad to exercise caution, arguing that such safeguards were necessary for their own security.

“On proliferation, India refers to the history of the AQ Khan network, which contributed to the Security Council Resolution 1540 almost two decades back,” Bedi said.

“This is relevant in the context of demands for unquestioned nuclear cooperation and transfer of advanced weapons and military capabilities,” he added.

“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.

Adopted in 2004, UN Security Council Resolution 1540 is a binding measure that prohibits countries from transferring weapons of mass destruction to terrorists, described in the resolution as “non-state actors”, or helping them acquire such weapons.

The resolution also established the 1540 Committee to monitor its implementation.

India accuses Pakistan of using terrorism to fuel regional crises

Bedi argued that Pakistan’s repeated use of terrorism to trigger crises was a major source of regional instability.

“In India’s experience, crises in the region have tended to follow a recurring pattern: first, provocation; second, denial of responsibility; and third, appeals for restraint once a response has been made,” he said.

“That is how instability becomes useful, and that is how the cycle keeps on repeating,” he added.

He also criticised Pakistan’s governance structure, alleging that the country’s military exercised real power while those making decisions were not directly accountable to the public.

“Those in power are neither elected by people nor accountable to them, their decisions carry no risk and impose no cost for those who take them,” Bedi said. “That is how crisis becomes an instrument of power.”

The role of Pakistan’s military leadership was also highlighted during UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ recent visit to the country. Guterres met military chief Asim Munir, an unusual step given that formal meetings with military leaders are not part of his regular itinerary, according to Bedi’s remarks.

India defends decision to suspend Indus Waters Treaty

Bedi also defended India’s decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, saying the agreement had been based on trust and cooperation that Pakistan had undermined.

Responding to Andrabi’s remarks on Kashmir, Bedi said Pakistan raised the issue regardless of the subject under discussion at international meetings.

“Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India. We call for India’s illegally occupied territories to be vacated and returned back,” he said.

(with IANS inputs)