Where and why are the US military present in the Middle East, including Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar?

 

Why is India concerned about Pakistan getting two important responsibilities in the UN Security Council?

While Pakistan's appointment to key positions in two important committees of the United Nations Security Council is being hailed as a 'major diplomatic breakthrough' in the country, reservations have been expressed in India.

This week, Pakistan was appointed as the vice-chairman of the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee and the chairman of the monitoring committee established to implement sanctions on the Taliban.

This development at the UN has come at a time when India and Pakistan attacked each other last month and US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between the two countries.

Even now, diplomatic delegations from both countries are traveling to the capitals of Western countries and apprised allies of their respective positions.

The purpose of this article is to inform the readers about what the two UN committees actually do and what Pakistan's role will be in these committees as vice-chairman and chairman.

 

Which two important positions did Pakistan get?

Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee

The resolution establishing this committee was passed in the United Nations in 2001 and the Counter-Terrorism Committee works under it.

This committee monitors the implementation of counter-terrorism laws and codes of conduct. According to the information available on the United Nations website, the committee not only works with countries but also visits these countries to implement the Counter-Terrorism Charter.

It shares these reports only with the relevant countries and prepares these reports with the help of these countries, international organizations and other sources.

Monitoring the implementation of sanctions on the Taliban

Pakistan has been appointed as the chairman of this committee.

This committee was formed under UN Resolution 1988 and its purpose is to monitor the implementation of sanctions on theTaliban, other groups affiliated with it and their members.

How are appointments made to these committees?

The Security Council is one of the six main organs of the United Nations. The main responsibility of this council is to maintain international peace and security. It has a total of five permanent and ten non-permanent members.

The five permanent members include China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, while its ten other non-permanent members are elected to the Security Council for two-year terms.

Its non-permanent members include Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia.

Maleeha Lodhi, who served as Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations in the past, told BBC Urdu that appointments to these two committees are made by consensus of all the countries on the Security Council.

'The consent of all countries is necessary for appointments. All countries interested in these committees in the Security Council are given the opportunity to join these committees and any country rarely faces opposition.'

According to Maleeha Lodhi, these committees also monitor groups and individuals proscribed by the Security Council.

On the other hand, former US diplomat Elizabeth Threlkeld told BBC Urdu that appointments to these committees are made in accordance with the pre-established principles of the UN Security Council.

“The roles of chairman and vice-chairman are distributed through a negotiation process to maintain a balance among the council members.”

Why are Security Council committees important to Pakistan?

The Pakistani mission to the UN says that “these appointments reflect Pakistan’s dynamic role in the UN system and its acceptance of its constructive role as an elected member of the Security Council. In addition, they are also tantamount to international acceptance of Pakistan’s efforts to prevent terrorism.”

According to Elizabeth, Pakistan will be able to hold meetings under its new role in the committees, initiate discussions on various topics and strive to ensure full implementation of UN sanctions and counter-terrorism resolutions. “These are temporary positions, but they also bring opportunities to set the agenda and influence other issues.”

 

Will the chairmanship of the committee formed to impose sanctions on the Taliban affect relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan?

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been volatile since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, and Islamabad has repeatedly accused militant groups of using Afghan soil against Pakistan.

Afghanistan has repeatedly denied these allegations. However, relations between the two countries have improved in recent days.

Recently, both countries have also given their diplomats on each other’s soil the status of regular ambassadors. In such a situation, can Pakistan’s chairmanship of the Security Council committee have a negative impact on relations between the two countries?

Former ambassador Maleeha Lodhi says that Pakistan cannot do anything alone. ‘Pakistan can certainly influence the work of this committee, but most of the work of this committee is determined by the five permanent and other elected members of the Security Council.

“Pakistan cannot use this committee to influence Pakistan-Afghanistan relations and will work according to the mandate it has.”

On the other hand, Elizabeth says that as a result of chairing the committee monitoring sanctions on the Taliban, Pakistan will get “a visible role” in the talks on Afghanistan, that too at a time when relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are not very good.

South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman says that chairing the committee on sanctions on the Taliban will give Pakistan an opportunity to regain influence over the Taliban, which has diminished in the recent past.

According to him, if the Taliban want the sanctions imposed on them to be lifted, Pakistan can raise the issue of the TTP’s presence in Afghanistan with the Taliban in return.

 

Kugelman says that Islamabad is reducing tensions with the Taliban and will avoid actions that will anger them.

Why is India concerned?

While India has not issued any official statement on this development at the UN, some quarters in New Delhi are certainly wary of giving Pakistan key positions in the Security Council committees.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is among the Indian delegations tasked with promoting the Indian narrative amid the ongoing tensions with Pakistan.

When asked about this, Shashi Tharoor said, “There are half a dozen counter-terrorism committees in the UNSC. The members of the council head such committees on a rotating basis. As long as Pakistan is in the Security Council, it can get such privileges. But India’s permanent mission to the UN will keep an eye on Pakistan’s activities.”

Vinay Kawda, assistant professor of international affairs and security studies at the Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice in Rajasthan, researches topics such as Afghanistan-Pakistan, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency.

Speaking to BBC Hindi, he said that giving a country like Pakistan any responsibility in an institution like the UNSC not only shows diplomatic indifference but also reveals the flaws of the entire structure.

He said, "Making Pakistan a part of these committees is tantamount to giving the responsibility of monitoring terrorism to the same country which has serious allegations of harbouring terrorism and using it as a foreign policy tool. This is worrying not only for India but also for the credibility of the global counter-terrorism structure."

JNU assistant professor Vineet Prakash believes that this news is worrying for India.

He says that such appointments are made only after getting a green signal from the permanent members of the UN Security Council and giving a green signal means admitting that Pakistan has nothing to do with terrorism.

The question here arises whether India's opposition could cause Pakistan any problems in the UN?

Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, answers this question in the negative.

She says, “India is raising objections because it has started a campaign to question Pakistan’s credibility, but this campaign will have zero impact because India is not even a member of the Security Council.”

Former US diplomat Elizabeth Threlkeld says that India’s objections are a result of the pre-existing tension between Islamabad and New Delhi.

“But even so, it will not have any impact on Pakistan’s role in the Security Council because appointments to committees are made under a pre-established procedure.”

Why is Pakistan considering this its diplomatic success?

Fazlur Rehman, a senior fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs, also questions the timing of this appointment. According to him, if this appointment had been made five to six months ago, it could have been ignored and seen as a routine update. ‘But at a time when just two months ago, India had the Pahalgam attack, after which a quasi-war-like situation arose with Pakistan and the Indian delegation was on a visit to the non-permanent members of the UNSC, it cannot be ignored like that.’

He believes that this is a major diplomatic victory for Pakistan.

According to Fazlur Rehman, ‘With this appointment, it seems that Pakistan has turned world opinion in its favor.’

So what can Pakistan do in these committees? On this question, Vineet Prakash says that Pakistan will be able to do something to a very limited extent because all decisions are taken by consensus. ‘The chairman or vice-chairman of the committee cannot make any decision alone.’

In the opinion of South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman, it is definitely a diplomatic victory for Pakistan that it succeeded in gaining influence in the UN because it required the unanimous opinion of the permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council.

But he says that Pakistan and India often clash at the UN, so it is unlikely that Pakistan's new responsibilities will change this tradition, especially in an environment of tension.