Latest news with #India-PakistanQuestion
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
At UNSC huddle, Pakistan faces tough questions
No takers at UNSC meet for Pak's false-flag narrative NEW DELHI: The United Nations Security Council's closed-door meeting on rising India-Pakistan tensions expectedly failed to yield any substantive outcome for govt sources said Pakistan's efforts to internationalise the issue made little headway as UNSC advised Islamabad to resolve issues bilaterally with India and sought accountability for the Pahalgam attack , while expressing concern over Pakistan's nuclear rhetoric and missile the 90-minute meeting, the member-states are learnt to have condemned the April 22 attack and posed "tough questions" about the likely involvement of UN-proscribed Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba While views were expressed individually by some after the consultations, the Council didn't collectively make any statement. The least Pakistan would have hoped for is an oral statement by the Council Indian permanent representative to UN Syed Akbaruddin said Pakistan's quest to resurrect an agenda item which has not been deliberated upon formally since 1965 by Council expectedly didn't take off. Pakistan is a non-permanent UNSC member currently."The lack of a response by the Council to Pakistan's briefing is a vindication of Indian stance," said Akbaruddin, who was India's ambassador to the UN when Pakistan last sought closed-door consultations through China in 2019. That was after India revoked J&K's special status in Aug 2019 meeting too had ended without any outcome or formal statement even though China had strongly pushed for it. Closed-door meetings comprise informal discussions that are held not in Council room but in an adjacent chamber with limited number of Pakistan, as in 2019, the latest meeting too was more an exercise in managing public perception than advancing any meaningful discussions, even though the consultations were held under the India-Pakistan Question that relates to J&K and not under, as it was meant to be initially, the generic 'Threats to International Peace and Security' agenda the meeting, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, members disapproved of false flag narrative initially propounded by Pakistan and asked about the likely involvement of LeT in the attack. There were questions about targeting of tourists based on their religious identity. "There was condemnation of the attack and recognition of the need for accountability. Some members specifically brought up the targeting of tourists on basis of their religious faith," said a source, adding many members expressed concern that Pakistan's missile tests and nuclear rhetoric were escalatory the meeting, some Council members were reported to have backed the idea of an independent international investigation into the attack. According to the Security Council Report, China and Greece appeared to have already indicated - before the meeting - their support for such an investigation. Such a probe though will need the consent of both India and issued a statement after the meet in which it said Council members expressed "deep concern" over the risk of escalation and urged restraint. It also claimed several members underscored that the J&K dispute remained the root cause of regional instability.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pakistan tries to up ante but UNSC seeks accountability for Pahalgam attack
The UN Security Council (UNSC) closed-door meeting on rising India-Pakistan tensions expectedly failed to yield any substantive outcome for Pakistan. According to Indian government sources, Pakistan's efforts to internationalise the issue made little headway with the Council as it advised Islamabad to resolve issues bilaterally with India and sought accountability for the Pahalgam terrorist attack, while expressing concerns over Pakistan's nuclear rhetoric and missile views were expressed individually by some after the consultations, the Council didn't collectively make any statement. The least Pakistan would have hoped for is an oral statement by the Council president. Not taken in by what the Indian side saw as diplomatic grandstanding by Pakistan, which is a non-permanent Council member currently, the member-states are learnt to have condemned the Pahalgam attack in the 90-minute meeting and posed 'tough questions' about the likely involvement of UN-proscribed Pakistan based terror group Indian permanent representative to UN Syed Akbaruddin said Pakistan's quest to resurrect an agenda item which has not been deliberated upon formally since 1965 by the Council expectedly did not take off.'The lack of a response by the Council to Pakistan's briefing is a vindication of the Indian stance,' said Akbaruddin, who was India's ambassador to the UN when Pakistan last sought closed-door consultations through China in 2019. That was after India revoked the special status of J&K in August 2019 meeting too had ended without any outcome or formal statement even though China had strongly pushed for it. Closed-door meetings comprise informal discussions that are held not in the Council room but in an adjacent chamber with limited number of delegates. For Pakistan, like in 2019, the latest meeting too was more an exercise in managing public perception than advancing any meaningful discussions, even though the consultations were held under the India-Pakistan Question that relates to J&K and not under, as it was meant to be initially, the generic 'Threats to International Peace and Security' agenda the meeting, according to sources here who spoke on condition of anonymity, members disapproved of the false flag narrative initially propounded by Pakistan and asked 'tough questions' about the likely involvement of UN proscribed terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba in the attack. There were questions also about the targeting of tourists based on their religious identity. 'There was broad condemnation of the terrorist attack and recognition of the need for accountability. Some members specifically brought up the targeting of tourists on the basis of their religious faith,'' said a source, adding many members expressed concern that Pakistan's missile tests and nuclear rhetoric were escalatory Council members before the meeting were reported to have backed the idea of an independent international investigation into the attack. According to the Security Council Report, China and Greece appeared to have already indicated - before the meeting - their support for such an investigation. Such a probe though will need the consent of both India and issued a statement after the meeting in which it said that Council members expressed 'deep concern' about the risk of escalation and urged restraint. It also claimed several members underscored that the J&K dispute remained the root cause of regional instability.
Business Recorder
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
India-Pakistan Question: UNSC calls for dialogue to avoid military confrontation
As tensions between Pakistan and India continue, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) called on Tuesday for dialogue and diplomacy to avoid military confrontation and conflict and to peacefully resolve issues. This was expressed by the council during closed consultations today under the agenda item 'The India-Pakistan Question', convened on Pakistan's request. The 'India-Pakistan Question,' is one of the oldest items on the agenda of the UN Security Council, under which the UN Security Council remains seized of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute. This meeting comes after Pakistan achieved a significant diplomatic success at the UNSC, effectively blocking India's attempts to push through a resolution that directly attributed the recent Pahalgam incident to Pakistan and incorporated language favouring New Delhi's stance on Kashmir. 'The meeting was held to discuss the deteriorating regional security environment, heightened tensions between India and Pakistan and the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),' the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement today. The meeting was convened at Pakistan's request, in view of India's recent unilateral measures and provocative public pronouncements that 'have significantly increased the risk of military confrontation and threatened regional and international peace and security'. Pakistan's Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, highlighted India's provocative actions, including its unilateral measures announced on 23rd April and aggressive military posturing. 'He cautioned that these actions were unjustified and dangerous, and could lead to catastrophic consequences,' said the FO. The members were apprised of intelligence indicating an imminent threat of kinetic action by India against Pakistan, emphasizing that Islamabad remained fully prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and would exercise its inherent and legitimate right to self-defence as enshrined in the UN Charter in case of any aggression. 'However, Pakistan reaffirmed that it did not seek escalation.' Moreover, the members were also briefed on India's unilateral decision to hold in abeyance the historic Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. The FO said that Pakistan reiterated its warning that any attempt to obstruct or divert the natural flow of its share of river waters would constitute an act of war. Meanwhile, the council members expressed deep concern over the growing risk of escalation and emphasized the urgent need for restraint and de-escalation. 'Several members underscored that the long-standing Jammu and Kashmir dispute was the root cause of regional instability, and it must be resolved in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,' said the press release. It added that they also underlined respect for international law and obligations with reference to the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty by India.
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
In closed-door meet, UNSC discusses faceoff
NEW DELHI: UN security council was scheduled to hold closed-door consultations on Monday on the rising India-Pakistan tensions , after Pakistan as a non-permanent member sought a meeting to brief member-states about what it described as India's aggressive behaviour. Pakistan has accused India of preparing to launch an attack on the country despite its own warmongering that has seen it test firing missiles twice in past few days. External affairs minister S Jaishankar has been in touch with council members, including Greece which holds the presidency of the council for May, to drive home India's point about Pakistan's use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy and to mobilise support for India's efforts to bring the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terrorist attack to justice. The UNSC closed-door consultations are of informal nature and unlikely to lead to any substantive outcome in this case - except allowing Pakistan a shot at diplomatic grandstanding - much like the closed consultations Islamabad sought through ally China in 2019 after India revoked the special status of J&K. The discussions - expected to begin around 12.30am IST Tuesday - will take place not under the India-Pakistan Question that involves J&K but the more generic "threats to international peace and security". Pakistan had said Sunday it will inform the council about how India's "aggressive actions are jeopardising regional peace and security". Pakistan is expected to raise the issue of the Indus Waters Treaty that India put in abeyance after the Pahalgam terrorist attack. While most council members have been supportive of India's zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, India remains wary of China's support to Pakistan in UNSC. This was obvious in the way Pakistan worked with China to water down the council's condemnation of the terrorist attack. Unlike its condemnation of the Pulwama attack in 2019, the council did not ask State to cooperate specifically with the Indian govt and didn't name the terror group that had taken responsibility for the attack. Pakistan said last week that as a member-state it has the right to convene a meeting when it feels appropriate because of the threat to regional and global peace.
