Jaishankar Takes Swipe at Pakistan Over Terrorism, Says UN System ‘Not Well’
New Delhi: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Friday (October 24) took a veiled swipe at Pakistan, saying multilateralism loses credibility when a member of the UN Security Council shields groups behind attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking at an event in New Delhi marking the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, Jaishankar said: “When a sitting Security Council member openly protects the very organisation that claims responsibility for the barbaric terror attack such as at Pahalgam, what does it do to the credibility of multilateralism?”
He added that few issues exposed the UN's weakness more sharply than its response to terrorism. “If victims and perpetrators of terrorism are equated in the name of global strategy, how much more cynical can the world get? When self-proclaimed terrorists are shielded from the sanctioning process, what does it say for the sincerity of those involved?”
His remarks were seen as aimed at Pakistan, currently serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. India has accused Pakistan of being behind the April terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians, an allegation Islamabad has denied.
The Security Council had issued a statement condemning the attack, but it was reportedly watered down under pressure from Pakistan and its ally China.
In May, India launched missile and drone strikes targeting what it described as terrorist infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Islamabad retaliated, leading to four days of cross-border clashes that ended on May 10.
Jaishankar linked this failure to the broader dysfunction within the world body, warning that “all is not well with the United Nations”. He said its decision-making neither reflected its membership nor addressed global priorities, adding that “any meaningful reform is obstructed using the reform process itself”.
“The UN's debates have become increasingly polarised and its working visibly gridlocked,” he said, noting that financial strain had become another concern. “How to sustain the UN even while seeking its re-invention is clearly a major challenge before all of us.”
He also pointed to the slowing progress of the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals as a sign of the Global South's distress, citing unequal trade conditions, supply chain dependence and political domination by richer nations.
Despite these flaws, he reaffirmed India’s support for multilateralism and the UN system. “However difficult, the commitment to multilateralism must remain strong. However flawed, the United Nations must be supported in this time of crisis,” he said.
The minister was speaking at an event where the Department of Posts unveiled a commemorative postage stamp to mark “UN@80.”
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