UNSC holds closed consultation on India, Pak situation; president Sekeris calls it productive

United Nations, May 6 (IANS) The Security Council met in a closed session on the tension between India and Pakistan, and its President Evangelos Sekeris described it afterwards as a “productive meeting”.

As he left the meeting on Monday, he told reporters, “The Security Council is always helpful in such efforts” to de-escalate. "It is the responsibility of the Council". “It was a productive meeting and helpful”, he said.

Since the meeting was a closed consultation, its proceedings are secret without official records.

Assistant Secretary-General Mohamed Khaled Khiari, who briefed the meeting, said on his way out that all want de-escalation.

Asked how he viewed it, he said, “Situation is volatile", and would not elaborate.

Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva, who attended the meeting, said, “We hope for de-escalation".

Sekeris convened the meeting at the request of Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad.

Ahmad called for a closed consultation because countries that are not members of the Council are not allowed to participate in it under Council procedures.

That effectively shut out India, while Pakistan, as a current elected member, attended.

Before the meeting, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the situation was at a “boiling point" and asked the two countries to “step back from the brink”.

"It is also essential – especially at this critical hour -- to avoid a military confrontation that could easily spin out of control”, he said.

Condemning “strongly” the terrorist massacre of 26 people in Pahalgam last month, he said, "I understand the raw feelings following the awful terror attack”.

The Resistance Front, an affiliate of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba, owned responsibility for the terrorist attack.

Speaking to reporters after the consultation, Ahmad “categorically” denied India’s charge that Pakistan was involved in the attack.

He vacillated between militancy and conciliation. He referred to Kashmir as a disputed territory welling with mass discontent that is at the root of the problem with India, rather than terrorism, while also offering cooperation with India.

“We are fully prepared to defend our sovereignty”, he said.

“We reiterate our commitment to peaceful cooperative relations with all our neighbours, including India, [and] we remain open to dialogue”, he added.

“In view of the gravity of the situation, the calls of dialogue and de-escalation and peaceful resolution of disputes as we also heard from the Council members today are most pertinent”, Ahmad said.

--IANS

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