Thiruvananthapuram:
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, a former diplomat who has served at the United Nations, has pointed out the “sad reality” of Security Council consultations after its members met last night to discuss the India-Pakistan tensions and the Pahalgam terror attack.
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 told ANI.
He said he does not expect anything specific out of the Council, either through formal meetings or informal consultations, that will directly affect either of the two countries.
“That is the sad reality of the way these things function,” he added.
The April 22 massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam is among the deadliest terror attacks in decades that drew widespread condemnation. Reports suggest 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,” 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.
