Jaishankar Slams Pakistan for Shielding Terror Group at UN
External Affairs Minister says UN credibility at stake as Pakistan protects outfit behind Pahalgam attack; urges reinvention of multilateral body.
New Delhi: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Friday lashed out at non-permanent UN Security Council (UNSC) member Pakistan for protecting the terrorist group The Resistance Front (TRF) that carried out the Pahalgam terror attacks. Speaking in the national capital at a function to mark 80 years of the UN, the foreign minister also took veiled digs at China for often blocking UN sanctions on Pakistan-based terrorists and the US for its assiduous cultivation of Pakistan despite its terror record.
“Few examples are more telling about the challenges facing the UN than its response to terrorism. When a sitting Security Council member openly protects the very organisation that claims responsibility for the barbaric terror attack, such as at Pahalgam, what does it do to the credibility of multilateralism?" Mr Jaishankar said, adding, "Similarly, if victims and perpetrators of terrorism are equated in the name of global strategy, how much more cynical can the world get? When self-proclaimed terrorists are shielded from the sanctioning process, what does it say for the sincerity of those involved?”
Slamming the functioning of the UN, the foreign minister said, “We must also recognise that all is not well with the United Nations. Its decision-making neither reflects its membership nor addresses global priorities. Its debates have become increasingly polarised and its working is visibly gridlocked. Any meaningful reform is obstructed using the reform process itself. Now, financial constraints have emerged as an additional concern. How to sustain the UN even while seeking its reinvention is clearly a major challenge before all of us."
“If the maintenance of international peace and security has become lip service, the predicament of development and socio-economic progress is even more serious. The slowing down of the SDG Agenda 2030 is a significant metric to measure the distress of the Global South. There are many more, whether it is trade measures, supply chain dependence or political domination… Even today, we are regrettably witnessing multiple major conflicts that not only take a great toll on human lives but also impact the well-being of the entire international community. The Global South, in particular, has felt this pain even as the more developed insulated themselves from consequences,” the foreign minister added.
On UN Day, the foreign minister reiterated India’s commitment to the ideals of peace and security, as well as development and progress. Outlining India’s position and the way forward, he said, “We cannot abandon hope. However difficult, the commitment to multilateralism must remain strong. However flawed, the United Nations must be supported in this time of crisis. Our faith in international cooperation must be reiterated and indeed renewed… India has always been and will continue to be a strong votary of the United Nations, and indeed, of multilateralism.”
The foreign minister also released a commemorative postage stamp celebrating UN@80 to mark the occasion.
