Pakistan raises Kashmir at UNSC, opposes India's permanent membership bid

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar slammed Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) after the country’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari not only used the forum to rake up the issue of Kashmir, but also opposed India’s claim for a permanent seat at the table.

Jaishankar on Thursday drew the attention of the UNSC to cross-border terrorism emanating from India's western neighbourhood with the testimony of nurse Anjali Kulhe, who had saved 20 pregnant women in a hospital during the November 26-28, 2008 attacks in Mumbai by 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, who had sneaked into India from Pakistan.

“Her testimony is a stark reminder to the Council and the international community that justice is yet to be delivered to the victims of several terrorist incidents, including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks,” Jaishankar said at a UNSC briefing on “Global Counter terrorism Approach: Challenges and Way Forward.”

Pakistan, however, sought to turn the tables by continuing its allegation of India’s role in orchestrating terrorist strikes in its territory.

“The question of justifying what the world regards as unacceptable should not even arise. That certainly applies to state sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. Nor can hosting Osama Bin Laden and attacking a neighbouring Parliament serve as credentials to sermonise before this council,” Jaishankar said during an open debate on “Maintenance of International Peace and Security: New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism” at the UNSC.

He was reminding Zardari the May 2011 killing of the al-Qaeda chief at Abbottabad by a team of United States Navy commandos. The killing had revealed that the much-wanted terrorist leader had been hiding close to the Pakistani Military Academy. He was also referring to December 13, 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament of terrorists from Pakistan.

Read | India slams China, Pakistan at UNSC for shielding terrorists

Jaishankar was chairing the UNSC open debate, which was held as one of the signature events of India’s month-long presidency of the council. India’s two-year-term as a non-permanent member of the council will come to an end on December 31.

Though Pakistan is not currently a member of the Security Council, it was allowed to attend the debate, which was open to all the UN member states.

Zardari called upon the UNSC to implement its resolutions on the dispute over Kashmir and deliver upon its commitment to bring in peace in the region.

“We believe it is a multinational agenda, an agenda of this UNSC and if you want to see the success of the multilateral institution or multilateralism and the success of this very council, surely you can aid in this process; allow the implementation of the resolutions of the UNSC, when it comes to the question of Kashmir, prove that multilateralism can succeed, prove that the UNSC can succeed and deliver peace in the region,” Zardari said.

India has been maintaining that the 1972 Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan and the 1999 Lahore Declaration had left no scope for the UN or any other third party to play any role in resolving the “outstanding issues” between the two neighbours.

“Parties to a dispute cannot advocate multilateral processes one day and insist on ‘bilateral’ avenues the day after. Pakistan firmly believes that the major security problems, including those in our region, can be effectively and peacefully resolved through the active involvement of the Security Council and the secretary-general,” said Zardari.

He also opposed India’s bid for permanent membership of the Security Council.

Zardari also warned that the admission of new permanent members in the UNSC would raise the possibility of “paralysis” in the council. “The problem cannot be the solution. And, surely, states which have a record of not implementing the resolutions of the Security Council cannot be considered as worthy of consideration for any forms of Council membership,” he added, taking a dig at India.

Many members of the council, including four of the five permanent members of the council, recently reiterated support to India’s bid for permanent membership of the council. Pakistan’s iron-brother China, however, refrained from doing so.

Zardari also targeted India at the UNSC just hours after his colleague and Minister of State for External Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, accused India of orchestrating terror attacks in Pakistan. Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed Khan also briefed the foreign diplomats in Islamabad about India's alleged role in terrorist strikes in the country.

The officials of Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday shared a dossier with the foreign diplomatic missions in Islamabad. They claimed that the dossier contained evidences of India’s role in terrorist attacks in Pakistan, particularly the one in front of the Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed’s house in Lahore in June 2021.