India on Friday accused Pakistan of shielding terrorism at the United Nations, pointing out that Islamabad’s actions at the UN Security Council (UNSC) have exposed how the global body’s work has become “gridlocked” in the absence of long-pending reforms.
Speaking at an event marking the 80th anniversary of the UN, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said “all is not well” with the world body, whose debates are “increasingly polarised” and decision-making “visibly paralysed.” He cited Pakistan’s attempt to delete references to The Resistance Front (TRF): a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy that claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack from a UNSC statement, as evidence of the organisation’s credibility crisis.
“When a sitting Security Council member protects a terror outfit that openly takes credit for a barbaric attack like Pahalgam, what does it say about multilateralism?” Jaishankar asked. Without naming Pakistan, he said equating victims and perpetrators of terrorism “in the name of global strategy” reflects deep cynicism in international politics.
Pakistan, currently a non-permanent UNSC member and president of the Council in July, reportedly blocked references to TRF despite its mention in a UN report linking it to the attack. Jaishankar stressed that the UN’s failure to act decisively on terrorism underscores its larger malaise. “Any meaningful reform is obstructed using the reform process itself,” he said, adding that sustaining the UN while reinventing it is one of the world’s major challenges.
Highlighting the slow progress of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, Jaishankar said the plight of the Global South is reflected in stalled development, trade inequities, and supply chain dependencies. Yet, he concluded on a note of resolve: “However flawed, the UN must be supported in this time of crisis. The commitment to multilateralism must remain strong.”
