India’s top diplomat pulls no punches as he accuses nations of sheltering terrorists and using nukes as leverage
New York didn’t blink when he said it — but it heard him loud and clear.
Standing at the United Nations headquarters on a humid Monday morning, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivered what may go down as one of his most forceful speeches in recent memory. “There is no justification for terrorism. No political reason. No grievance. No religious shield. And certainly, no impunity,” he said.
He wasn’t vague. He wasn’t mellow. He didn’t name names — but he didn’t need to.
As he opened the solemn exhibition “The Human Cost of Terrorism,” an emotional showcase of photographs and stories of Indian victims from terror attacks, Jaishankar sent a message not just to diplomats but to entire governments. His bottom line? India won’t tolerate terror havens, and it won’t be cowed by veiled nuclear threats either.
UN Platform, Unfiltered Message
This wasn’t just another ceremonial ribbon-cutting in New York.
The setting may have been a photo exhibition, but Jaishankar used it as a podium to issue a warning. Dressed in a grey Nehru jacket, with his trademark calm intensity, the minister spoke directly to a global community still struggling with selective definitions of terrorism.
He said some countries had “refused to walk the talk” on counter-terrorism, indulging in double standards — one set of rules for enemies, another for “friends.” While no country was mentioned explicitly, India has long criticized Pakistan for harboring terrorist groups operating against Indian targets.
“The days of being polite while innocent lives are lost are long gone,” said a retired Indian diplomat watching from the gallery.
No Room for Nuclear Blackmail
One line hit differently — and lingered longer than most.
“There can be no justification for terrorism, and no yielding to nuclear blackmail,” Jaishankar said, eyebrows raised ever so slightly, voice steady. He didn’t expand, but the message was sharp enough to slice through ambiguity.
That wasn’t for the UN photo-op crowd. That was for capitals — Tehran, Islamabad, and maybe even Pyongyang. It came days after Iran’s supreme leader warned of “unpredictable consequences” over suspected Israeli attacks and just weeks after reports of backchannel nuclear threats circulated during the Iran-Israel flare-up.
It also served as a reminder: India has its red lines.
Exhibiting Grief, Not Just Pictures
The exhibition itself wasn’t flashy. No fancy lighting, no giant installations.
Just photos. And pain.
Pictures of Mumbai’s CST station after 26/11. Blurred images from Pulwama. Family members clutching framed portraits of loved ones lost in Delhi bombings. There was a letter from a schoolchild in Kashmir. And there was silence in the room that said everything words didn’t.
A visitor leaned in toward a photo of a bloodied shoe near the 2008 Taj Hotel attack scene and whispered, “That could’ve been my father’s.”
The exhibition aimed not to shock, but to remind. That behind every headline — “13 Killed in Blast,” “Gunmen Open Fire on Train” — are real people. Real families. Real futures stolen.
• One placard showed India’s terror death toll since 2000 — nearly 20,000 lives lost, both civilians and security personnel.
A Broader Global Pulse
India’s push isn’t happening in a vacuum.
Just last month, the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy passed with near-unanimous support, but not without friction. India has long argued that global counter-terror efforts are too West-centric and often fail to account for South Asian realities.
Jaishankar touched on this too. He urged the international community to move past “narrative gymnastics” and adopt a uniform, zero-tolerance approach to terror — regardless of the ideology or geography involved.
The timing? Not random. Next month, India is expected to push for reforms at the BRICS summit in Brazil, with terrorism and security expected to dominate agenda items.
U.S. Visit Framed by Firm Diplomacy
This was the first stop in Jaishankar’s three-day visit to the U.S., and he didn’t hold back.
Sources say he will meet senior State Department officials and U.S. lawmakers in Washington later this week, pressing not only for counter-terror coordination but also faster defense-tech transfer and deeper intelligence collaboration.
On background, a senior Indian official told Bloomberg-style correspondents: “We’ve lost too many people. This is no longer just a bilateral issue with Pakistan or a regional problem. Terror financing, safe havens, and weak multilateral enforcement — they’re all on the table now.”
It’s a clear signal India wants the U.S. and other allies to step up, especially as terror threats continue to mutate.
Terrorism’s Global Numbers Tell a Story
Here’s a look at where India stands globally in terms of terrorism impact:
| Country | Terror Deaths (2023) | Most Active Group |
|---|---|---|
| India | 510 | Lashkar-e-Taiba |
| Pakistan | 693 | Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan |
| Nigeria | 1,341 | Boko Haram / ISWAP |
| Iraq | 669 | Islamic State remnants |
| Afghanistan | 1,531 | Islamic State-Khorasan |
Source: Global Terrorism Index 2024
Even though attacks have dropped in some regions, the evolving nature of lone wolf and state-sponsored operations keeps governments on edge.
Chatter in the Hallways
Back in the UN lobby, after the exhibition ended, the conversations among diplomats didn’t revolve around art.
One Eastern European ambassador said he hadn’t heard a clearer framing of terror impunity in years. A Middle East envoy nodded, calling Jaishankar’s tone “unusually bold.” Meanwhile, a junior African delegate flipped through photos of Indian schoolchildren killed in a 2014 bus blast and quietly said, “Same thing happened in Mali.”
