Pakistan opposes US support to India

Federal cabinet points out India’s consistent disregard for UN principles.

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet expressed on Wednesday its concern on the United States’ decision to support India’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, passed a resolution against a recent statement of President Barack Obama.

Pakistan has been consistently opposing the expansion of UN Security Council, particularly the move to grant India a permanent status.

“This decision has grave ramifications for the ... prospects of the system of multilateral cooperation as envisaged by the ... UN Charter,” said the resolution.

It also has implications for peace and security and stability in Asia, especially South Asia, it said.

“We will take up this issue with the US,” said Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira at a news briefing after the cabinet meeting.

The cabinet noted that it is incomprehensible that the US has sought to support India, whose credentials with respect to observing UN Charter’s principles and international laws are at best questionable.

“This is most explicitly illustrated by India’s disregard of Security Council resolutions on the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and gross and systematic violations of fundamental human rights of the Kashmiri people,” it added.

“Pakistan, along with a large number of members of the international community, supports a principled process of reform of the Security Council.

“This process should be based on respect for the cardinal principles of UN Charter including the principle of sovereign equality of states,” the resolution said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2010.