A team of United Nations experts has categorically declared India’s military action against Pakistan following the Pahalgam incident as an “unlawful use of force.” The UN findings pertain to India’s aerial strikes of May 6–7, 2025, which were carried out after a terrorist attack in the Pahalgam area of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on April 22, 2025. The expert report, finalised in October 2025 and published on December 15, 2025, concluded that India’s actions violated international law and fundamental human rights.While examining India’s claim of self-defense, UN experts noted that India had no “right to respond, pre-empt, or deter cross-border attacks” by launching strikes inside Pakistan. India neither notified the UN Security Council nor invoked Article 51 of the UN Charter, which mandates formal reporting when a state claims self-defense. Consequently, India violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state.
Under international law, the right of self-defense may only be exercised if an armed attack is attributable to a foreign state, either directly or through non-state actors acting on its behalf. In this case, the UN experts found no evidence; direct or indirect, linking Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack. The report clearly stated that “there is no separate right to unilateral use military force in foreign territory in order to counter terrorism.” India also failed to present any credible proof that the attackers were supported or dispatched by Pakistan.By launching air strikes without legal justification, India not only violated Pakistan’s sovereignty but may itself have committed an armed attack, thereby entitling Pakistan to exercise its right of self-defense under Article 51. The UN experts further emphasized that the unlawful use of force constituted a violation of the right to life under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Following the Pahalgam incident, India embarked on aggressive military mobilization while its political leadership and BJP-aligned media fueled war hysteria through inflammatory rhetoric against Pakistan. Despite Pakistan’s categorical denial of involvement and its call for a neutral international investigation, India persisted with unilateral military action. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio separately contacted Indian and Pakistani leadership, urging restraint, de-escalation, and dialogue.
Simultaneously, Indian forces intensified repression in IIOJK. Over 5,000 Kashmiri youth were reportedly arrested and detained in military camps and torture centers, with several killed in fake encounters. Dozens of homes were demolished, while women and elderly residents were publicly humiliated. These actions suggest that the Pahalgam incident was used as a pretext to pursue long-term strategic objectives, including pressuring Pakistan over the Indus Waters Treaty, delegitimizing the Kashmiri freedom movement, and defaming Kashmiri’s struggle.
India’s reliance on false flag operations is not new. Since the early 2000s, several attackssuch as Chittisinghpura (2000), the Indian Parliament attack (2001), Mumbai (2008), Pathankot and Uri (2016), and Pulwama (2019)were used to malign Pakistan. In 2023, former IIOJK Governor Satya Pal Malik publicly exposed the Pulwama attack as an internally manufactured event, claiming that Prime Minister Modi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval instructed him to remain silent for electoral and political gains.The aftermath of Pulwama led to India’s incursion into Pakistani airspace at Balakot in February 2019, which was met with Pakistan’s decisive response, including the downing of two Indian aircraft. This episode humiliated India militarily and diplomatically. In an attempt to mask this failure, India later acquired Rafale aircraft from France, dreaming of restoring lost prestige.
On the night of May 6–7, 2025, India again crossed a dangerous threshold by launching a massive aerial assault on six Pakistani cities, killing 31 civilians and injuring more than 57 others, including women, children, and the elderly. Mosques and residential areas were deliberately targeted, a fact corroborated by independent international media. Such attacks constitute grave violations of the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which strictly prohibit attacks on civilians.Rules 1 and 2 of IHL mandate distinction between civilians and combatants and prohibit acts intended to spread terror among civilian populations. Rule 45 further prohibits methods of warfare that cause long-term environmental damage. India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty immediately after the Pahalgam incident further aggravated the situation, threatening Pakistan’s water security and violating fundamental rights related to livelihood, food, water, and a sustainable environment.
Pakistan remains committed to peace; however, it will not compromise on its sovereignty and national integrity. India must abandon its strategy of false flag operations, halt human rights violations in IIOJK, and engage in meaningful dialogue. The only sustainable path to regional peace lies in adherence to international law and the implementation of UN resolutions granting Kashmiris their right to self-determination.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
