India has told the United Nations General Assembly's First Committee that it will not bow to nuclear blackmail, laying down three red lines in a sharp Right of Reply to remarks made by Pakistan.
Exercising India's Right of Reply at the committee, which deals with disarmament and international security, Anmol Sher Singh Bedi, Senior Adviser (Disarmament) at India's Permanent Mission to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, warned that nuclear weapons must not be treated as "routine instruments of statecraft".
"Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India," Bedi said, rejecting Pakistan's claims over the region. He said India's military capabilities were defensive in nature and shaped by its security environment, rather than directed against any particular country.
The three red lines
Bedi laid out India's strategic stance in three parts. First: any terrorist attack against India will receive a fitting response. Second: India will not bow to nuclear blackmail. Third: India will make no distinction between those who sponsor terrorism and those who mastermind it.
He defended India's actions following the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians were killed, describing New Delhi's response as "measured, targeted, and non-escalatory" in self-defence.
Nuclear overhang raises escalation risk
Bedi cautioned that "a posture that relies on nuclear overhang to limit the consequences of sub-conventional activity raises the risk of escalation and not the prospect of restraint." He added that escalation concerns are best judged by conduct over rhetoric.
He also gave the committee the reassurance that India's nuclear capabilities are defensive, and noted that India maintains a no-first-use policy.
Sources:
'Nuclear weapons not routine instruments of statecraft': India's warning to Pakistan at UN — The Times of India
'Will not bow to nuclear blackmail': India draws three red lines in sharp rebuttal to Pakistan at UN — The Tribune
Exercising India's Right of Reply at the committee, which deals with disarmament and international security, Anmol Sher Singh Bedi, Senior Adviser (Disarmament) at India's Permanent Mission to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, warned that nuclear weapons must not be treated as "routine instruments of statecraft".
"Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India," Bedi said, rejecting Pakistan's claims over the region. He said India's military capabilities were defensive in nature and shaped by its security environment, rather than directed against any particular country.
The three red lines
Bedi laid out India's strategic stance in three parts. First: any terrorist attack against India will receive a fitting response. Second: India will not bow to nuclear blackmail. Third: India will make no distinction between those who sponsor terrorism and those who mastermind it.
He defended India's actions following the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians were killed, describing New Delhi's response as "measured, targeted, and non-escalatory" in self-defence.
Nuclear overhang raises escalation risk
Bedi cautioned that "a posture that relies on nuclear overhang to limit the consequences of sub-conventional activity raises the risk of escalation and not the prospect of restraint." He added that escalation concerns are best judged by conduct over rhetoric.
He also gave the committee the reassurance that India's nuclear capabilities are defensive, and noted that India maintains a no-first-use policy.
Sources:
'Nuclear weapons not routine instruments of statecraft': India's warning to Pakistan at UN — The Times of India
'Will not bow to nuclear blackmail': India draws three red lines in sharp rebuttal to Pakistan at UN — The Tribune
