Terror Attack: Pakistan Grilled at UNSC Meeting, Asif Threatens World if India Attacks Pakistan

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, May 6: Even as Pakistan reportedly received dressing down at the United Nations Security Council meeting over the Pahalgam terror attack, there is no let up to the Pakistani ministers issuing hollow threats and this time not limited to India but to the whole world.

Amidst the boiling tension between the two countries in the aftermath of the terror attack killing 26 tourists, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday warned that if Pakistan was attacked by India, “the world will not survive.”

“If India dares to attack Pakistan and Pakistan’s existence comes under threat, nobody will survive in this world,” the minister said in yet another incendiary remark towards India. Asif also likened the situation to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, saying that the same mentality was being applied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies. “If this were to happen to us… if our existence is in danger, then either we survive, or no one does,” he added.

Earlier, Asif warned that New Delhi could launch a military strike at any moment along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. “There are reports that India may strike at any point along the LoC… New Delhi will be given a befitting reply,” he told reporters in Islamabad.

He had further said Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked for an international probe into the Pahalgam terror attack. “Such a probe would expose whether India itself or any internal group was involved, and clarify the truth behind New Delhi’s baseless allegations,” he added.

Adding to the list of brazen threats, Asif had earlier vowed to “destroy” any structure built by India to divert water meant for Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty. He had threatened an “all-out war” between India and Pakistan over the issue of Kashmir.

His threat was sharply reacted to by the BJP in India, which said that the Pakistanis are living in constant fear. “Khawaja Asif is visibly shaken. Though he is Pakistan’s Defence Minister, he hardly has any control. He’s merely a statement minister, constantly issuing hollow threats. The fear among Pakistanis is evident. They are losing sleep at night,” BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

Asif’s threats comes amidst reports of Pakistan being asked tough questions over the Pahalgam terror attack at the UNSC meeting on Monday night even though Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, a former diplomat who has served at the United Nations, said nothing concrete could be expected from the Council. “That is the sad reality of the way these things function,” he added.

Only member countries were present at the closed-door meeting, due to which it isn’t exactly known what transpired at the talks. Reports, however, suggest the members of the UNSC posed tough questions to Pakistan. Mr Tharoor, speaking out of his knowledge of how the UNSC functions, asserted that the Security Council won’t pass any resolution against either India or Pakistan.

“I am quite confident that the Council will not pass a resolution criticising Pakistan because China will veto it, (and) they will not pass a resolution criticising us as many countries will object to it and probably veto it. It is going to be more of a call for peace and concern about terror in a general kind of language,” the Congress leader said.

He said he did not expect anything specific or a decision out of the Council, either through formal meetings or informal consultations, that will directly affect either of the two countries. Reports, however, suggested that the Council members grilled Islamabad over Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba’s involvement in the attack and called for accountability.

Pakistan is among the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council and was present at the meeting, while India wasn’t. “In these circumstances, Pakistan would have thought they had an advantage, but the impression we are getting is that a number of delegations asked very tough questions, and particularly about the Lashkar-e-Taiba and its initial claim of responsibility, false flag narrative, targeting of tourists on religious lines and nuclear rhetoric.” said Mr Tharoor.

Based on what is being reported, he said there appears to be some criticism of the terror attack in Pahalgam, and that nothing much can be expected from this platform. “The concerns that have come out largely are that terrorism is extremely dangerous and that it can understandably provoke an Indian reaction, which in turn can lead to further escalation. So, there was a certain willingness, from what I can gather, to a very critical of what happened in Pahalgam,” added the MP from Thiruvananthapuram.

At best, the Security Council may issue an informal statement after consulting with the members or convene an official meeting, he said. “Some members may well say that, given Pakistan is a party to the dispute, to come up with an agreed position having heard only the Pakistani view and not the Indian view would not be right. Therefore, some member states may suggest a meeting of the council,” added the former diplomat who has also been a junior foreign minister. No official statement has yet been issued either by the Security Council or India regarding the closed-door talks.

The meeting came after Pakistan, currently a non-permanent member of the powerful 15-nation Security Council, requested “closed consultations” over an escalation of the Pahalgam terror attack. According to the sources, the Council members questioned Islamabad over its links with Lashkar-e-Taiba’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack.