China helps Pakistan as it tries to water down UNSC statement on Pahalgam terror attack: Report

While the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack, reports are emerging that Pakistan worked with China to water down the statement released by the international body. Pakistan, a non-permanent member of the UNSC, co-signed the statement released by the council over the attack.

However, the recent statement by the UNSC was watered down compared to the one it released during the Pulwama attack in 2019. According to a report by The Times of India, Pakistan took China’s help to make the statement less tilted towards India.

It is pertinent to note that Pakistan’s own statement following the Pahalgam attack expressed “concern”, but the Islamabad administration nowhere mentioned that they condemned the attack that led to the death of 26 civilians in the Pahalgam district of Kashmir.

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Reading between the lines

In the statement, the UNSC called for international collaboration to bring the perpetrators of the “reprehensible act of terrorism” to justice. However, things changed as the statement goes on. During the Pulwama attack, the UNSC called on all States to actively cooperate with the “Government of India,” but the same grace was not given this time.

Instead, the council urged the international actors to do the same with “all the relevant authorities”. According to TOI, Pakistan, backed by China, was responsible for the change in the statement. It is important to note that the statement was proposed by the United States and underwent tough negotiations before all the members reached a consensus.

Pakistan’s motive behind diluting the statement could be that Islamabad probably thought that a specific mention of the Indian government would give India leverage over the investigation of the attack. This is coming at a time when Pakistan has been calling for an “independent body” to investigate the matter. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday that Pakistan is open to a “neutral and transparent” probe into the attack.

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The UNSC statement marked a difference from what the body said on both the Pulwama attack in India and the Jaffar Express train hijacking in Pakistan. In both instances, the council urged international actors to work with the local governments.

While India is on the road to mending ties with China, Beijing’s silent support to Pakistan over this matter can be concerning to New Delhi.