Terrorism, clandestine nuclear trade Pak's 'only crowning glory' for 70 years: India at UN
United Nations: The "only crowning glory" that Pakistan has to show to the world for the last seven decades is terrorism, ethnic cleansing, majoritarian fundamentalism and clandestine nuclear trade, India said in a scathing response on Friday, slamming Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's "incessant rant" and "venom" in the UN General Assembly.
"This august forum witnessed a new low on its 75th anniversary. The leader of Pakistan today called for those who incite hate and violence to be outlawed. But as he went on, we were left wondering, was he referring to himself?" First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Mijito Vinito said, making India's Right of Reply.
The strong rebuttal came after Khan spoke about India's internal affairs, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, during his pre-recorded video statement at the high-level General Debate. Vinito, who was sitting at India's seat in the UN General Assembly hall for the General Debate, walked out when Khan started his usual "diatribe" about India.
"This hall heard the incessant rant of someone who had nothing to show for himself, who had no achievements to speak of and no reasonable suggestion to offer to the world. Instead, we saw lies, misinformation, war mongering and malice spread through this Assembly," the young Indian diplomat said.
Slamming Pakistan for its record as a nation, Vinito said, "The only crowning glory that this country has to show to the world for the last 70 years is terrorism, ethnic cleansing, majoritarian fundamentalism and clandestine nuclear trade."
Alluding to the "stellar record" of Pakistan, he said this is the country that has the "dubious distinction" of hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the United Nations, a reference to terror masterminds such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) head Masood Azhar.
"This is the same country that provides pensions for dreaded and listed terrorists out of State funds. The leader whom we heard today is the same person who referred to terrorist Osama Bin Laden as a 'martyr'" in the Pakistani Parliament in July, Vinito said.
He added that it is Pakistan that brought genocide to South Asia 39 years ago when it killed its own people and it is also the country that is "shameless enough" not to offer a sincere apology for the horrors it perpetrated even after so many years.
India asserted in its Right of Reply that Khan, "who spewed venom today", admitted in 2019 in public in the US that his country still has about 30,000-40,000 terrorists, who have been trained by Pakistan and have fought in Afghanistan and in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
"This is the country that has systematically cleansed its minorities, including Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and others, through the abuse of its blasphemy laws and through forced religious conversions," Vinito said, adding that "for someone who professes to be a champion of Islam, this is also a country that has encouraged killing of fellow Muslims merely because they belonged to a different sect or to a different region in Pakistan and through sponsoring terrorist attacks against its neighbours".
Pakistan has consistently used UN platforms, including the high-level General Assembly sessions, to rake up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, but has repeatedly found no resonance with the international community for its "diatribe".
India strongly asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is its "integral and inalienable part" and the rules and legislations brought in the Union Territory are strictly its internal affairs.
"The only dispute left in Kashmir relates to that part of Kashmir that is still under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. We call upon Pakistan to vacate all those areas that it is in illegal occupation of," Vinito said, adding that what should instead be on the agenda of the UN is Pakistan's "deep state and its unrelenting political and financial support to terrorist organisations and mercenaries, which are a threat to global peace and security".
"The only way for Pakistan to become a normal country is to abjure its moral, financial and material support to terrorism, turn its attention to the problems faced by its own population, including its minorities, and stop misusing UN platforms to further its nefarious agenda," India said.
The words used in the General Assembly by Khan "demean" the very essence of the United Nations, Vinito said, adding that "for a nation that is deeply buried in medievalism, it is understandable that the tenets of a modern civilised society such as peace, dialogue and diplomacy are farfetched".
Pakistan's delegate then made a response to India's Right of Reply.
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Media dinner shooting suspect wrote about targeting of administration officials, Trump says
Washington (AP): The man accused of trying to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives had written about targeting Trump administration officials, and his family raised concerns with law enforcement before the event, President Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview on Fox News Channel.
The accused gunman's family had alerted police in Connecticut, Trump said, revealing new details about a chaotic encounter that disrupted one of Washington's glitziest annual events the night before.
The suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was expected to face criminal charges on Monday from the Justice Department, whose acting leader, Todd Blanche, said the suspect travelled by train from California and checked in as a guest days earlier at the Washington hotel where the Saturday night gala dinner was held with its typically tight security.
Law enforcement officials who have interviewed Allen's relatives, examined the gunman's electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.
He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a violent scene that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC's “Meet the Press.”
The suspect is believed to have purchased the two firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
“He failed,” Blanche said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Law enforcement did their jobs.”
Authorities believe the suspect fired the shot that hit the Secret Service officer, who is expected to make a full recovery, Blanche said.
“He's going to be great, he's going to be fine, and thank God he was wearing a bulletproof vest,” Blanche said Sunday on ABC's “This Week.”
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump.
The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realised something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
Trump was unusually conciliatory after what he saw as a third attempt on his life in less than two years. He suggested that his personal politics had made him a repeated target, but he also called for unity and bipartisan healing in an increasingly violent world.
“It's always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes,” Trump told reporters in a hastily organised news conference at the White House late Saturday.
