United Nations:India has strongly hit back at Pakistan for raking up the Kashmir issue in the UN Security Council, arguing that a country that hosted slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and attacked a neighbouring Parliament does not have the credentials to "sermonise" before the powerful UN organ. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's strong remarks came after Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto raised the Kashmir issue while speaking in the Council's open debate on reformed multilateralism on Wednesday. Jaishankar said the credibility of the UN depends on its effective response to the key challenges of our times, be it pandemics, climate change, conflicts or terrorism.
We are obviously focused today on the urgency of reforming multilateralism. We will naturally have our particular views, but there is a growing convergence at least that this cannot be delayed any further, said Jaishankar, who is chairing India's signature event on reformed multilateralism. While we search for the best solutions, what our discourse must never accept is the normalisation of such threats. The question of justifying what the world regards as unacceptable should not even arise.
That certainly applies to state sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. Nor can hosting Osama bin Laden and attacking a neighbouring Parliament serve as credentials to sermonise before this Council, he said. Jaishankar arrived here on Tuesday to preside over two signature events on counter-terrorism and reformed multilateralism being held under India's current Presidency of the UN Security Council, before the curtains come down this month on the country's two-year tenure as an elected member of the powerful 15-nation.