Published 12:48 IST, June 16th 2020
Pakistan FM attempts brave face; says 'no issue' if India becomes permanent UNSC member
The foreign minister of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that it is not an 'issue' even if India is elected as a permanent member in the UN security council
As India is set to be elected as a non-permanent member in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), foreign minister of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi has put up a brave fact and claimed that it is not an 'issue' even if India is elected as a permanent member. Pakistani journalist Naila Inayat shared a clip from Quereshi's interview, wherein he said that already India has attempted to get the seat as a permanent member a number of times and it would make no difference to the Imran Khan-led nation. He also added that if India is elected, Pakistan too will be elected as a permanent member - a point that is laughable given that India has at various points has had support of 4 of the 5 permanent members, while Pakistan's all-weather friend China remains Imran Khan's only backer.
Qureshi said UNSC was an important forum but India’s non-permanent membership should not be seen as extraordinary because Pakistan had also served at the same position previously for seven times.
On June 5, India's Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar announced that the polls for India's temporary seat in the UNSC as a non-permanent member would take place in June. The election will take place at the United Nations on June 17. India would be contesting for the non-permanent member seat whose tenure is of 2 years, beginning from January 2021. India has emerged as the single-endorsed candidate from its regional group, amid the larger push for the country to be made a permanent member of the 5-nation apex grouping, currently comprising the US, UK, Russia, China and France.
India's role in UNSC previously
India has been actively pursuing for a permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council for years and has received support from four of the five permanent members. Barring China, the other permanent members of the Security Council have backed India to join as a permanent member, including two successive US governments.
Previously, India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for the years 1950—1951, 1967—1968, 1972—1973, 1977—1978, 1984—1985, 1991—1992 and most recently in 2011—2012. India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the Security Council, saying it rightly deserves a place as a permanent member of the Council which in its current form does not represent the geo-political realities of the 21st Century. Each year the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members (out of 10 in total) for a two-year term. The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis - five for African and Asian States; one for Eastern European States; two for the Latin American and Caribbean States; and two for Western European and other States.
Updated 12:54 IST, June 16th 2020