Pakistan today overtook Japan for a seat in the UN Security Council – the world’s highest diplomatic body. Islamabad will hold one of the two seats in the Asia-Pacific region (the other seat being South Korea) for two years starting today.
Pakistan will also chair the council in July when it takes over as president. This will help Islamabad in setting the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. Additionally, Islamabad finds itself in another important position after gaining a seat on the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee, which is responsible for designating and sanctioning individuals and groups as terrorists.
This new two-year term as a non-permanent member will be Pakistan’s eighth term in the top UN body. It comes at a critical time, when Central and West Asia are facing political and humanitarian crises – the war in Gaza, the crisis in Lebanon, tensions between Israel and Iran, regime change in Syria and the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Name some.
Europe is also struggling with severe economic stress from the years-long Russia-Ukraine war. In East Asia, there are serious concerns over China’s threat to Taiwan and North Korea’s military surge, while South Korea is grappling with one of its worst political crises. China also has serious differences with the Philippines and Vietnam, which have led to naval confrontations.
But perhaps the most obvious agenda on Pakistan’s agenda would be to make rhetoric about Kashmir. Islamabad’s envoy to the UN has already hinted at this in his remarks after Pakistan assumed the seat on the UN Security Council. Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram said, “We will continue to highlight the ‘Kashmir issue’ and insist on concrete steps from the international community.”
As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Pakistan will not have veto powers, but will have an important role in matters such as designating terrorists and influencing the sanctions committee.
Pakistan’s two-year term also coincides with talks to reform the UN Security Council, in which India aims to become a permanent member with full veto rights. Islamabad will likely make every possible effort to disrupt the process and push back New Delhi’s efforts to gain a fair seat on the council. India, being the world’s most populous country and one of the leading global economies, has been pursuing “much-needed reforms” with a proven track-record.
Islamabad has already said it will strongly oppose the inclusion of any new permanent members and instead support the expansion of the non-permanent category.
Islamabad has also said that as one of the five non-permanent members of the Security Council from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation or OIC countries, Pakistan will aim to be the ‘voice of the Muslim world’, just as India is the ‘voice of Is. Global South’.
