An arena for Islamabad to do grandstanding

Hindustan Times

13 hours ago

Pakistan will assume the presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in July, for one month. However, in the run-up to the presidency, there has been much consternation in the Indian media about Pakistan becoming one of the three vice-chairs of UNSC's Committee on Counter-Terrorism (CTC). Algeria will remain the CTC chair till the end of 2025, and Pakistan wants to become the chair in 2026. Even though Pakistan unwisely held up the work of other UNSC Committees for a full five months just to get this express commitment for 2026 — similar to the dispensation India got in 2021 — the P-5 (permanent five members of UNSC) still would not agree to give Pakistan any such commitment.
When India wanted to be the CTC chair during its term at UNSC between 2021-2022, there was no vacancy in 2021 since the chair, Tunisia, still had one year to go. Normally, the chair would then have gone to those members elected for 2022-2023, and India would have missed the chance. However, the UNSC, and more importantly, the P-5 (which included China), gave an express commitment to India in 2021 that it would be the CTC chair for 2022. Needless to add, India made an impact by bringing the entire CTC Committee in 2022 to visit the venue of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and chairing a special CTC session in New Delhi. Pakistan wanted a similar express commitment for the CTC chair in 2026, which was refused by the Council. This is not to say that it won't get the chair in 2026, but it will have five other newly elected member-States competing for the post.
The P-5 also rightly, and outrightly, rejected Pakistan's demand to chair the 1267 sanctions committee dealing with al-Qaeda and ISIL (Da'esh), since the 1267 sanctions list is peppered with the names of Pakistani terrorists and terror groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and the masterminds of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Pakistan had to settle for the 1988 Taliban sanctions committee which has now become a mere shell of its former self after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in August 2021. Though some Taliban ministers are still on the sanctions list, they have been continuously given waivers from sanctions to perform their functions. If Pakistan thinks that it can arm-twist the Taliban as the chair, it is sadly mistaken.
That said, the focus is on Pakistan's UNSC presidency in July. Its presidency comes in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, with a civilian government fattened by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other loans and a military establishment receiving arms from China and Turkey. Since it is Islamabad's only presidency, during its term, it will go for the 'jugular vein' — borrowing a phrase from its much-decorated army chief.
During its presidency, Pakistan can be expected to do all it can to have an open debate on Jammu and Kashmir to do some grandstanding on the world stage. It would ideally prefer this under an anachronistically titled agenda item, 'The India-Pakistan question'. However, the P-5 nations have allowed only closed consultations under this agenda item in the recent past. Since Pakistan is adamant about an open discussion, it may settle for another agenda item 'peaceful resolution of conflicts' which would, however, dilute the focus given there are enough conflicts around the world. Of course, technically any decision for an open or closed session can be challenged and voted on, for which nine affirmative votes out of 15 members are required (since vetoes do not apply to procedural votes). But Pakistan is mindful of the fact that contrary to what it is trying to project, there is really no appetite in the international community to internationalise the Kashmir issue. Moreover, while Indians like to portray any call for de-escalation as a hyphenation of India and Pakistan, this hyphenation is more in our minds and not in those who call for de-escalation. The world knows better.
On the Indus Water Treaty, even before India held it in abeyance after the Pahalgam attacks, Pakistan had declared its intention to make it an issue during its presidency. After consistently thwarting India's attempt to renegotiate this lopsided treaty, it will take the matter to the UNSC citing breach of security. There is a precedence of UNSC presidential statements being adopted earlier, on the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam that was contested by Egypt fearing decreased flow of Nile waters from Ethiopia. Any UNSC statement will require the concurrence of all 15 member-States. Further, a Pakistani focus on combatting terrorism and Islamophobia is inevitable, in the country's attempt to wipe away the stains of being a State sponsor of terrorism. A session on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is on the cards to burnish Pakistan's Islamic credentials. The Gaza war and Israeli-Iran conflict will receive attention. So will UN peacekeeping, since Pakistan is a major troop-contributing country.
While our multiparty delegations have visited UNSC countries, multilateral issues have dynamics of their own. Close bilateral friendship with a country does not necessarily translate into greater multilateral cooperation at the UN. India will no doubt keep a close eye on what the US and the UK do in July, given recent American flip-flops on Pakistan and the UK's ambivalent postures in UNSC.
Further, given India's geopolitical distancing from recent conflicts around the world — in its national interest — we should be prepared for similar reactions towards India when we need them. Given our standing, the world now expects us to get geopolitically involved in their problems as well. As I have argued before, it is time for India to take its right geopolitical place — regionally and globally.
Pakistan's presidency also comes during the monsoon session of our Parliament. One hopes that we in India treat Pakistan's grandstanding with a sense of perspective and equanimity. No UNSC document can threaten the national interests of India.
TS Tirumurti is a former ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, New York. The views expressed are personal