Roving Periscope: India thrashes Pakistan, China at UNSC on terror support
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In a blistering attack on recalcitrant China and its rogue client Pakistan, India on Wednesday thrashed the two ‘all-weather friends’, saying while Beijing is misusing global forums to protect terrorists, Islamabad, which hosted global terror chief Osama bin Laden for years, has no credentials to sermonize others.
Strongly hitting back at Pakistan for raking up the Kashmir issue in the UN Security Council, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar argued that a country that hosted slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and attacked a neighboring country (India’s) Parliament does not have the credentials to “sermonize” before the powerful UN organ.
Dr. Jaishankar’s strong remarks came after Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari raked up the Kashmir matter during the UNSC’s Open Debate on reformed multilateralism.
The EAM said the credibility of the UN depends on its effective response to the key challenges of our times, be it pandemics, climate change, conflicts, or terrorism.
“We are obviously focused today on the urgency of reforming multilateralism. We will naturally have our particular views, but there is a growing convergence at least that this cannot be delayed any further,” said Dr. Jaishankar, while chairing India’s signature event on reformed multilateralism.
“While we search for the best solutions, what our discourse must never accept is the normalization of such threats. 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 neighboring Parliament serve as credentials to sermonize before this Council,” he said.
Dr. Jaishankar reached the UN on Tuesday to preside over two signature events on counter-terrorism and reformed multilateralism being held under India’s current Presidency of the UNSC, which ends this month after a two-year tenure as an elected member of the powerful 15-nation UN body, where the Big Five (the US, UK, France, Russia, and China) are permanent members with veto power.
He presided over the UNSC Open Debate on “Maintenance of International Peace and Security: New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism,” a signature event held under India’s Presidency of the 15-nation Council.
Among the over 60 speakers listed for the debate was Pakistan’s FM Bhutto, who raised the Kashmir issue. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj was chairing the debate when Bhutto spoke in the Council.
“If you want to see the success of multilateralism, then you can allow implementation of the UNSC resolution when it comes to Kashmir, prove multilateralism succeeds, prove the UNSC under your (India) presidency can succeed and deliver peace in our region,” Bhutto said in his expected diatribe.
Later, as Dr. Jaishankar presided over the debate, he gave a strong response to Bhutto’s comments.
He referred to Osama bin Laden, the terror mastermind behind September 11, 2001, attacks in America, who lived safely in Pakistan’s Abbottabad city until the US Navy Seal killed him in a raid at his hideout in May 2011.
Terrorists of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), who attacked the Indian Parliament complex in 2001 and killed nine people, still roam around freely across the country.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have spiked since New Delhi abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019. India’s decision evoked strong reactions from Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian envoy.
New Delhi categorically told the global community that the scrapping of Article 370 was an internal matter and advised Pakistan to accept the reality and stop all anti-India propaganda.
India also told Pakistan that New Delhi desires normal neighborly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility, and violence.
Dr. Jaishankar did not spare China either.
Multilateral platforms are being misused to justify and protect perpetrators of terrorism, he said in a veiled attack on China.
“On the challenge of terrorism, even as the world is coming together with a more collective response, multilateral platforms are being misused to justify and protect perpetrators,” he said.
His remarks appeared to be a reference to China’s repeated holds and blocks on proposals to blacklist terrorists, particularly those based on Pakistani soil like Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, in the UNSC’s Sanctions Committee where Beijing regularly misuses its veto to protect Islamabad.
The Open Debate, a signature event held under India’s Presidency of the UNSC for the month, was addressed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President of the 77th session of the General Assembly Csaba Korosi.
