An arena for Pakistan to do grandstanding

Pakistan's UN Security Council presidency needs to be treated with a sense of perspective and equanimity. No UNSC document can threaten India's national interests

- TS Tirumurti

Pakistan will assume the presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in July, for one month. However, in the run-up to the presidency, there has been much consternation in the Indian media about Pakistan becoming one of the three vice-chairs of UNSC's Committee on Counter-Terrorism (CTC). Algeria will remain the CTC chair till the end of 2025, and Pakistan wants to become the chair in 2026. Even though Pakistan unwisely held up the work of other UNSC Committees for a full five months just to get this express commitment for 2026—similar to the dispensation India got in 2021—the P-5 (permanent five members of UNSC) still would not agree to give Pakistan any such commitment.

When India wanted to be CTC chair during its term at UNSC between 2021-2022, there was no vacancy in 2021 since the chair, Tunisia, still had one year to go. Normally, the chair would then have gone to those members elected for 2022-2023, and India would have missed the chance. However, the UNSC, and more importantly, the P-5 (which included China), gave an express commitment to India in 2021 that it would be CTC chair for 2022. Needless to add, India made an impact by bringing the entire CTC Committee in 2022 to visit the venue of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and chaired a special CTC session in New Delhi. Pakistan wanted a similar express commitment for the CTC chair in 2026, which was refused by the Council. This is not to say that it won't get the chair in 2026, but it will have five other newly elected member States competing for the post.