India strongly hit back at Pakistan in the UN General Assembly on Saturday, asserting that arguments by the “serial practitioner of terrorism” to normalise the scourge and claim immunity from its consequences will not stand.In his address to the General Debate at the high-level 81st session of the UN General Assembly, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also said that targeting of commercial shipping and seafarers transiting international waterways is “simply unacceptable”.During his address, Jaishankar also urged world leaders that “endless war must now give way to an end to conflict”, expressing concern over the ongoing hostilities in the Gulf and referring to the situation in Ukraine as “equally troubling”.”Yesterday, a serial practitioner of terrorism misrepresented facts before this Assembly,” Jaishankar said, in a veiled reference to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who had raised the Kashmir issue in his address at the UN on Friday.Without naming Pakistan and Sharif’s address, Jaishankar said arguments were invoked to “normalise terrorism, and claim immunity from its consequences”. “That will not stand,” he stressed.”Our right to defend ourselves against terrorism will be exercised,” Jaishankar said, asserting that “friendship and goodwill cannot co-exist with terrorism”.”And understandings premised on that will naturally be called into question. It is for the perpetrator of terrorism to mend its ways,” he said.Jaishankar told world leaders that a persistent threat to peace has been the scourge of terrorism. “That this could be state-sponsored, with a cross-border purpose, makes it a direct affront to the global order,” he said.He called for governments indulging in such practices to be held accountable. “There must be no dilution in our zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism. Its financial aspects, in particular, should be exposed and should be countered,” he said.Referring to the Gulf conflict, Jaishankar said the world is witnessing a conflict that is exacerbating an already difficult situation. “We remain deeply concerned over continuing hostilities,” he said.The minister said that the targeting of commercial shipping and seafarers transiting international waterways is “simply unacceptable”.”India calls upon all parties to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, ensure protection of civilians, and uninterrupted flow of energy and commerce,” he said.He emphasised that new challenges in the maritime domain have added to longstanding ones on land.”There have been attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers in the Gulf, and from the Red Sea to the Black Sea. Indian seafarers have lost their lives, as indeed have others from other nations. This is completely unacceptable,” Jaishankar said.He told the session that India has joined Liberia and 23 other partners in an initiative to rally global public opinion against such unwarranted targeting.