External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Monday inaugurated the exhibition titled ‘The Human Cost of Terrorism’ at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, calling for a united global stand against terrorism and state-sponsored extremism, subtly hitting out at Pakistan. Speaking at the event, Jaishankar stressed the urgency of exposing and holding accountable those behind acts of terror, particularly when supported by states.
Referring to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in India’s Jammu and Kashmir, which the UN Security Council strongly condemned five weeks ago, Jaishankar said the world must reject impunity for terrorists, refuse to treat them as proxies, and resist any form of nuclear blackmail. “Any state sponsorship must be exposed and must be counted,” he declared, emphasising that terrorism anywhere threatens peace everywhere.
“Terrorism is one of the gravest threats to humanity. It is the antithesis of everything that the UN stands for — human rights, rules and norms, and how nations should conduct their dealings with each other,” he said.
Jaishankar highlighted the importance of publicly calling out terrorism when it is backed by a state against a neighbour, fuelled by extremism, and linked to various illegal activities. “It is imperative to call it out publicly and one way of doing so is to display the havoc that it has wreaked on global society,” he added.
The exhibition, organised by India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, features powerful visual and textual displays documenting major terror attacks worldwide, including the 1993 and 2008 Mumbai attacks and the recent Pahalgam strike. It honours the victims and survivors, giving voice to those who can no longer speak and reminding the international community of its shared responsibility to combat terrorism in all its forms.
Jaishankar urged the UN to move beyond remembrance to action, reinforcing the message of zero tolerance towards terrorism and the need for collective resolve to protect peace and human dignity globally. The exhibition will be on display at two locations within the UN headquarters from 30 June to 3 July and again from 7 to 11 July 2025.