Disappointed Pakistan slams US over UNSC backing for India

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Nov 10 (PTI) Peeved over US' strong backing
for India's quest for a permanent UNSC berth, the Pakistan
government Wednesday slammed Washington over the move,
claiming it would have "implications" for peace and stability
in South Asia.
The government expressed its opposition to US
President Barack Obama's endorsement for India's efforts to
gain a seat at the high table during a meeting of the cabinet
chaired this afternoon by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza
Gilani.
The cabinet said "politics of expediency" should not
be allowed to decide the future of the international order.
"The Cabinet expressed its serious concern and strong
disappointment on the decision of the United States to support
a permanent seat for India on the UN Security Council," said a
statement issued by the Foreign Office following the meeting.
"This decision has grave ramifications for the
direction and prospects of the system of multilateral
cooperation as envisaged by the founding father of UN Charter.
"It also has implications for peace and security and
stability in Asia, particularly South Asia," the statement
said.
The cabinet claimed it was "incomprehensible that the
US has sought to support India, whose credentials with respect
to observing UN Charter principles and international law are
at best chequered".
As an instance, the cabinet cited what it described as
India's "disregard of Security Council Resolutions on Jammu
and Kashmir and gross and systematic violations of the
fundamental human rights of the Kashmiri people".
The Pakistan government claimed the future of the UN
and of "succeeding generations cannot and must not be premised
on considerations of power politics, politics of expediency,
bereft of morals and ideals, which must be the guiding spirit
for an enlightened international order".
The cabinet contended that Pakistan, "along with a
large number of members of the international community,"
wanted "principled" reforms of the Security Council.
"This process should be based on respect for the
cardinal principles of the UN Charter, including the principle
of sovereign equality of states," the statement said.
The Pakistan government, especially the Foreign
Office, has been rattled by Obama's remarks backing India's
bid for permanent membership of the UN's most important
decision-making body.
Shortly after Obama announced his support during a
speech to the Indian parliament on Monday, US envoy Cameron
Munter was called to the Foreign Office, where Foreign
Secretary Salman Bashir conveyed Islamabad's disappointment at
the development.
Bashir told the US envoy that the move would have
"serious repercussions" for South Asia and reforms of the UN,
Pakistani sources told PTI. (MORE) PTI