Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the UN General Assembly on September 26, delivering a speech that was predictable in both content and intent. It was another attempt to recycle old narratives—invoking Kashmir, aligning with the Palestinian cause, and portraying Pakistan as a victim—while overlooking uncomfortable realities about his own country. As has been customary for Pakistani leaders since 1948, Sharif cited the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir. Yet, he ignored a critical fact: the very conditions required by those resolutions were undermined by Pakistan itself when its tribal militias invaded Kashmir in 1948, followed by the establishment of militant sanctuaries in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India’s consistent objection has been rooted in this reality—that Pakistan’s military-intelligence nexus has fostered terrorism under the guise of supporting self-determination.

Sharif claimed that Kashmiris face oppression under Indian governance, but offered no evidence to substantiate his assertions. The abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 was painted as catastrophic by Islamabad, yet the Valley has remained largely calm since then. The tragedy in Pahalgam, where terrorists attacked civilians, was attributed by India to Pakistan-based groups. Sharif’s offer for an international probe rings hollow when juxtaposed against Pakistan’s own reluctance to prosecute figures such as Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar, both internationally designated terrorists. Equally significant is the fact that the UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee continues to list over two dozen Pakistan-based terrorists, including operatives of Al Qaeda and ISIL. Sharif did........

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