Pakistan Opposes India's Security Council Bid, Rakes up Kashmir

Islamabad: Peeved about US President Barack Obama's visit to India, Pakistan today said US support for India's permanent seat in the UN Security Council will "undermine the peace and stability in south-east Asia".

A country in violation of UN Security Council resolutions on "matters of international peace and security, such as the Jammu and Kashmir dispute" by no means qualifies for the status, said Sartaz Aziz, Pakistan's Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs

Pakistan, he said, was opposed to "yet another country-specific exemption" from NSG rules to grant membership to India.
Mr Aziz also said Pakistan said it would not tolerate any doubts about its commitment to fight terror. Pakistan's contribution and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism have been "widely acknowledged," and the country rejects any "insinuation or aspersion over its commitment to fight terrorism," he said.

Pakistan, Mr Aziz added, has also been the biggest victim of terrorism, including that "sponsored and supported from abroad".

Though this time he did not name India, earlier this month, Mr Aziz had accused India of carrying out terror attacks in Pakistan from Afghan soil. He, however, had offered no evidence of it.

The last big terror attack in Pakistan - the carnage at a school in Peshawar, had been carried out by its indigenous terrorists owing allegiance to Taliban.

"Condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations should not be based on selectivity or double standards," Mr Aziz said.