'Unacceptable,' Says Congress as Govt Mum on Pakistan's Appointment as Chair of UN Anti-Terror Panels

New Delhi: India has, so far, not reacted to Pakistan's appointment as vice-chair of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee and chair of the Taliban Sanctions Committee.

India's messaging on the global stage has firmly been against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

In May, India marked an escalation in these efforts as it struck nine locations in Pakistan which it said hosted "terror infrastructure,” following a terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians, mostly tourists, dead.

Days later it said it had carried out a second round of strikes inside Pakistan, this time targeting air defence radars and associated systems.

In his first address since Operation Sindoor, prime minister Narendra Modi repeated his government’s stated policy – that "talks and terror cannot go hand in hand."

“Instead of supporting us on our fight against terrorism, Pakistan began to target our schools, hospitals, and armed forces stations,” he said, accusing Pakistan state of not only “sponsoring terrorism but also protecting terrorists.”

The decision to appoint Pakistan head of these two committees comes as the Modi government is sending all-party outreach teams to 33 nations to drum up support for and  to communicate India’s stand on terrorism.

These committees have chairs on a rotating basis, annually, out of designated members of the UNSC. It is now clear that none of the members of the UNSC sought to stall Pakistan's selection to the position despite India's outreach efforts.

The committees

A dedicated Counter-Terrorism Committee was formed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the US. This committee is assisted by an executive directorate, which carries out its policy decisions and conducts expert assessments of the 193 United Nations Member States. The body has conducted more than 205 visits to over 119 United Nations member states.

The Taliban Sanctions Committee was formed in 1988 and is mandated to:

• oversee the implementation of the sanctions measures;
• designate individuals and entities who meet the listing criteria as contained in the relevant resolutions;
• consider and decide upon notifications and requests for exemptions from the sanctions measures;
• consider and decide upon requests to remove a name from the 1988 Sanctions List;
• conduct periodic and specialised reviews of the entries on the 1988 Sanctions List;
• examine the reports presented by the Monitoring Team;
• report periodically to the Security Council on the implementation of the sanctions measures;
• conduct outreach activities.

Reactions

Congress leader Pawan Khera posted on X highlighting how this selection comes after the International Monetary Fund gave $1 billion to Pakistan on May 9 during Operation Sindoor, the World Bank cleared $40 billion to the country soon after Operation Sindoor and the Asian Development Bank gave $800 million to Pakistan on June 3, almost a month after Operation Sindoor.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, batted for the Indian government, calling on the global community to stand with the country.

He called the committee appointments "unfortunate, ill-informed and unacceptable."

The Indian National Congress exhorts the international community to understand and support India's stand on terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Pakistan is the perpetrator of terror.
India is a victim of terror.
They cannot be equated.
They should not be hyphenated.

1. IMF,… pic.twitter.com/cU8VA3uePY

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) June 5, 2025

Meanwhile, The Wire has reported how after repeated assertions by the US president, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin has now also credited Donald Trump with halting the fighting between India and Pakistan, saying the issue came up during a recent phone call between the two leaders.

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