ISLAMABAD – Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri hassaid that Pakistan hopes that India will abide by relevant rules and normsgoverning conduct of Security Council presidency.
India took over presidency from France Sunday according to system rotationin alphabetical order of member states’ official names in English.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Munir Akram says the country will be”watchful, but not concerned” over India assuming presidency of the UnitedNations Security Council for August.
India is set to organise three high-level meetings focusing on maritimesecurity, counter-terrorism and promotion of multilateralism, according todiplomatic sources.
India took over the presidency from France on Sunday according to thesystem rotation in alphabetical order of the member states’ official namesin English.
The South Asian nation began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent memberof the UNSC on January 1, this year. This will be India’s first presidencyduring its 2021-22 tenure.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will himself virtually preside over the15-member Council meeting on “Maintenance of international peace andsecurity: Enhancing maritime security — A case for internationalcooperation”, in which member states will discuss coordination to tacklemaritime crime and security issues like piracy, drug trafficking, etc.
It is possible that at the behest of its western friends, India may alsoraise issues related to the South China sea, but in that case the Chineseenvoy is expected to give a strong response.
India will also organise a minister-level meeting titled, ‘Threats tointernational peace and security caused by terrorist acts’ at the end ofAugust.
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Diplomatic observers expect India to push its oft-repeated narrative ofbeing a victim of terrorism and may even mention Pakistan. If it does,Pakistan will be ready with its response with a written statement, asallowed to non-members.
Meanwhile, in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhrialso said that Pakistan hopes that “India will abide by the relevant rulesand norms governing the conduct of the Security Council Presidency”.
In view of the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, observersbelieve the issue may be raised in the Security Council as well.
The Taliban have gained a lot of ground as US and NATO forces withdrew fromAfghanistan.
On multilateralism, India, among other elements, is expected to highlightits bid for permanent membership of the UNSC in the context of reform ofthe 15-member body.
Pakistan Ambassador Akram said the country will be watchful and take stepsso that that India does not compromise its positions on UN reform,Afghanistan and terrorism.
