India started its eighth term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council last week but has already realized the bitter division of an open debate in a polarized world. It has also been a disappointing start for India as it could not muster support to assume the chairmanship of some of the most important committees of the global body.
India will be chairing three key subsidiary bodies – Taliban sanctions committee, Libya sanctions committee and Counter-Terrorism committee in 2022. However, it failed to assume chair of the powerful Al-Qaeda/Daesh Sanctions Committee and the Non-Proliferation Committee and also to become the custodian of the Afghanistan file in the Security Council.
There is no denying that India will attempt to use these committees for its own interests particularly for targeting Pakistan. The Taliban sanctions committee is dominated by the United States and India’s role would be rather minimal and it cannot take unilateral decisions which it is accustomed to such as travel bans and assets freeze. It is also ironic that India has been given this role as the Afghan peace process has reached an advanced stage and India is a spoiler to the peace talks. India claims that it will raise its voice against terrorism whereas it is in fact fomenting chaos and is a threat to regional peace.
Similarly, India’s bid for the Non-proliferation Committee encountered resistance as it is not part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and this raised serious questions regarding its nuclear status. The Libya sanctions committee is dormant and unlikely to make any difference. All in all, it has not been a good start for India’s much-heralded two-year term in the UNSC.
The world certainly has been provided enough evidence that Indian is involved in promoting an anti-Pakistan agenda and abetting and financing terror groups such as ISIS to spread sectarianism in the country. It is been known that Indian propaganda was been cleverly kept out of the international watch and an impression was given to favour India’s unilateral decisions such as those in occupied Kashmir.
We should also not forget the massive disinformation campaign by India over the past two decades and how Pakistan successfully countered its nefarious designs and gained success in the war on terrorism. India may be a member of the most world’s most powerful body but the shallow vested interests will show that it will use the seat to push forward its hate-driven agenda.
