Notwithstanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge that India will work for the entire humanity, and not only for those “who are on our side of the border," during its presidency of the United Nations Security Council, a jittery Pakistan has said it will watch carefully to ensure India does not hurt its core interests.

India took over the UN Security Council presidency from France for August on Sunday. This is the first presidency for India during its 2021-22  two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UNSC.

“India will obviously use its SC Presidency to promote its own narrative on various issues, including terrorism and UN reform,” Ambassador Munir Akram told Dawn.

“We will watch its conduct carefully and ensure that no moves that are against Pakistan’s core interests are allowed to succeed,” he said.

India’s Permanent Representative T S Tirumurti, who will preside over the Council this month, said in a tweet that during its presidency India will organize three high-level meetings focusing on maritime security, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism.

The agenda for the month will be finalized later on Monday with a closed session.

According to The Hindu, India will organize a ministerial-level meeting titled “threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts” at the end of August.

India is seeking to enhance coordination between the UN and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the money laundering and terror financial watchdog which has kept Pakistan on its increased monitoring list.

The FATF had announced on June 25 that Pakistan would continue to remain on its increased monitoring list till it addressed the single remaining item on the original action plan agreed to in June 2018 as well as all items on a parallel action plan handed out by the watchdog's regional partner — the Asia Pacific Group — in 2019.
 
India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that at the Council “India will keep the international spotlight firmly focused on the task of combatting” terrorism, the pandemic and climate change, which are global challenges that transcend national boundaries.

India’s leading newspaper Hindustan Times recently quoted Jaishankar as saying that the Modi government had ensured Pakistan remained on the FATF's “grey list”.

“Due to us, Pakistan is under the lens of FATF and it was kept in the grey list," Jaishankar had said while addressing a virtual training program on foreign policy for BJP leaders.

Reacting to these remarks, Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) stated last week that Jaishankar's statement vindicated Pakistan's longstanding stance on "India's negative role" in the global financial watchdog.

Among other meetings related to international peace and security that could be convened during the course of August, include Afghanistan – if there is an intense escalation of the ongoing conflict between the government in Kabul and the Taliban.

Pakistan has made it clear umpteen times that it does not wish to see India play a significant role in the Afghan peace process

Modi, who is scheduled to address the UNSC on Aug 9, meanwhile gave a firm assurance to the international community about India’s holistic approach to the UNSC presidency.

 “We must think of the entire humanity and not only of those who are on our side of the border. Humanity as a whole must be at the center of our thinking and action,” he said in a video message.

(SAM)