NEW DELHI: Pakistan faced tough questions about the Pahalgam terror attack, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) possible involvement in the incident, during an informal meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The “closed consultations” on the theme of “the India-Pakistan question” between the five permanent and 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council was convened on Monday (New York time) at the request of Pakistan to discuss tensions with India in the wake of the April 22 terror attack that killed 26 people. Pakistan is currently a non-permanent member of the UN body.
The UN Security Council member states raised tough questions for Pakistan at the informal session and asked whether the LeT was likely to be involved in the attack, the people said on condition of anonymity. The member states also refused to accept a narrative pushed by Pakistan’s top leadership in recent days that the terror attack was a “false flag” operation, the people said.
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India has unveiled a raft of punitive economic, political and diplomatic measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters, closure of the only operational land border crossing at Attari and downgrading of diplomatic ties, because of “cross-border linkages” to the terror attack. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week gave India’s armed forces “complete operational freedom” to decide the mode, targets and timing of India’s response to the terror attack.
Pakistan has announced counter-measures such as closing its airspace to Indian airliners and suspending all trade, while the leadership in Islamabad has said it will respond to any military or escalatory action by New Delhi. Pakistan’s deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar is among the leaders who claimed the terror attack was a “false flag” operation.
The people cited above said that during Monday’s consultations, which were held behind closed doors, there was broad condemnation of the terror attack and “recognition of the need for accountability”. Some UN Security Council member states specifically brought up the targeting of tourists on the basis of their faith in the attack at a scenic meadow near Pahalgam.
Many Security Council members expressed concern that Pakistan’s missile tests in recent days and nuclear rhetoric were “escalatory factors”, the people said.
“Pakistan’s efforts to internationalise the situation also failed. They were advised to sort out the issues bilaterally with India,” one of the people said.
New Delhi had anticipated that Islamabad would seek to bring up the Pahalgam terror attack at the UN Security Council and there were concerns that the neighbouring country’s focus would be on diverting attention from the main issue of terrorism, the people said.
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Between April 29 and May 1, external affairs minister S Jaishankar dialled his counterparts from the nine other non-permanent members in the UN Security Council – Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia – to brief them on India’s position on the terror attack and the need to combat terrorism and punish the perpetrators.
The Indian side also reached out to the five permanent members to ensure that the focus remained on countering terrorism and ensuring that the perpetrators and supporters of the Pahalgam terror attack are brought to justice, the people said.