ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday opposed any expansion of the permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, warning against “creating new centers of privilege” within the world body and instead advocating for a more democratic and regionally representative Council.
The statement came during an informal meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform, where long-standing divisions between two key camps — the G4 nations and the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group — were once again laid bare.
While the G4 — India, Brazil, Germany and Japan — seek permanent seats for themselves in a restructured Council, the UfC group, led by Italy and including Pakistan, favors an expansion only in the non-permanent category to ensure greater regional equity and accountability.
“We remain staunchly opposed to proposals for permanent seats, as there is no justification for creating new centers of privilege within the UN,” said Ambassador Usman Iqbal Jadoon, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN.
“Our goal is to democratize the Council and support a reform that corresponds to the interests of the large majority of member states and regional and cross-regional groups, not just a few self-appointed states,” he added.
Jadoon stressed that any increase in the Council’s size must reflect the dramatic rise in UN membership since 1945, particularly from small and medium-sized states, and warned that allocating a limited number of additional seats permanently to a handful of countries would diminish chances for broader representation.
He reiterated Pakistan’s support for the UfC proposal to raise the Council’s membership to 27, composed entirely of elected non-permanent members, with seats distributed among the UN’s five regional groups.
The approach, he continued, would better accommodate the interests of underrepresented blocs such as the Arab Group, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
“Each seat allocated permanently to an individual country will be a permanent blow to equitable geographical distribution or regional representation in any sense of the word,” Jadoon argued.
The Pakistani diplomat maintained that permanent seats occupied by individual states, even without veto power, would entrench the status quo and undermine accountability, an outcome he described as antithetical to the spirit of reform.
Pakistan opposes expansion of permanent Security Council seats, calls for elected representation
https://arab.news/bjzfd
Pakistan opposes expansion of permanent Security Council seats, calls for elected representation
- A Pakistani diplomat says ‘there is no justification for creating new centers of privilege within the UN’
- He says the UN should accommodate interests of underrepresented blocs like the Arab Group, OIC
Pakistan, UK discuss regional security, cross-border attacks as senior official visits Islamabad
- British envoy for Afghanistan Richard Lindsay’s visit comes at a time of a surge in militancy in Pakistan’s border regions
- Pakistani diplomat says both sides reviewed broader security challenges, emphasized coordination to address ‘shared concerns’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and British officials have discussed regional security challenges and cross-border attacks during talks in Islamabad, a Pakistani diplomat said on Tuesday, during a visit of the United Kingdom’s Afghanistan envoy, Richard Lindsay, to the Pakistani capital.
Pakistan and the UK regularly cooperate on counterterrorism and security, with a focus on intelligence-sharing to combat militant activity. Lindsay’s visit comes at a time of a rise in militancy in Pakistan’s western provinces, which border Afghanistan.
Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, said the discussions in Islamabad focused on the regional security situation, particularly the urgent challenge posed by cross-border attacks.
“We also exchanged views on the latest regional security developments and broader security challenges,” he said on X. “We emphasized the importance of continued cooperation and coordination to address shared concerns and promote regional stability.”
Islamabad frequently accuses Afghanistan of allowing its soil and India of backing militant groups, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny this.
In recent years, Pakistan and the UK have engaged with each other on counterterrorism and cross-border crimes as part of bilateral cooperation.
Both sides held the second round of the Pakistan-UK Counter Terrorism Dialogue in London in February last year, reviewing global and regional threats and exchanging best practices. Over the years, armed forces of both countries have also maintained close cooperation, particularly in counterterrorism efforts and professional military training.
