• By Soumyaroop Mukherjee
  • Sat, 27 Sep 2025 12:33 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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India’s young diplomat and First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Petal Gahlot, has grabbed global headlines for her uncompromising rebuttal to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the United Nations General Assembly. 

Speaking in India’s Right to Reply to Sharif’s address, Gahlot challenged the hollow claims of Pakistan seeking peace. She further added, “If he is indeed sincere, the pathway is clear. Pakistan must immediately shut down all terrorist camps and hand over to us the terrorists wanted in India.” 

The First Secretary further refuted Pakistan's claims on ceasefire and said that the Pak military "pleaded" with it for a cessation of fighting during Operation Sindoor and that there is no room for any third party to intervene in any issue between New Delhi and Islamabad.

"The Prime Minister of Pakistan also advanced a bizarre account of the recent conflict with India. The record on this matter is clear. Till 9 May, Pakistan was threatening more attacks on India. But on 10 May, its military pleaded with us directly for a cessation of the fighting,” she said. 

“The intervening event was the destruction caused to multiple Pakistani airbases by Indian forces. The pictures of that damage are, of course, publicly accessible. If destroyed runways and burnt-out hangars look like victory, as the Prime Minister claimed, Pakistan is welcome to enjoy it," Gahlot added.

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Who Is Petal Gahlot?

  • Born in New Delhi, Petal Gahlot is an Indian Foreign Service Officer who joined the bureaucracy after clearing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in 2015, thereby beginning her career in diplomacy.  

  • Currently, she is serving as the Indian advisor to the United Nations. She was appointed as the First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN in July 2023.

  • Before her stint at the United Nations, she was working as the Under Secretary of External Affairs in the European West Division for three years from 2020 to 2023. During this time period, she worked at the Indian mission/consulate in Paris and San Francisco, according to She The People. 

  • Gahlot has an undergraduate degree in sociology and French Literature from the prestigious St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

  • Subsequently, she then pursued her post-graduation in political science and governance from Delhi University’s Lady Shri Ram College for Women.

  • She also has a Master’s degree in language interpretation and translation studies from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California.

    • Skills Beyond Diplomacy:

    Beyond her skills as a diplomat, Petal also has an artistic bent of mind, with music being her personal favourite. An accomplished guitar player, Gahlot is dubbed the ‘Guitar Diplomat’ for her musical talents. 

    Following her speech at the UNGA, a video of her is also going viral on the internet, in which she can be seen singing a soulful rendition of the Bollywood song Kabira. The video was shared by Gahlot in May this year and is now going viral.

    Her musical accomplishments came to the forefront when she performed the Italian resistance anthem ‘Bella Ciao’, which drew widespread attention on social media. Her rendition of ‘Lost On You’ by LP further demonstrated her artistic flair.