UNITED NATIONS: The powerful UN Security Council has strongly condemned the “heinous and cowardly” Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and underlined the need to hold perpetrators of these “reprehensible acts” of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.
Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country.
“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility,” the UN Security Council said in a statement on the ‘Suicide Bombing in Jammu and Kashmir’ on Thursday.
The UNSC, which includes five permanent members China, France, Russia, UK and the US “underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice”, it said.
The top UN body urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions to cooperate actively with the government of India and all other relevant authorities.
“A statement with many firsts takes more time than expected. In complex diplomatic situations, however, it is better to be late than never,” India’s permanent representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin tweeted on the UNSC statement. On whether China raised any objections to the statement, sources said here that drafting the statement was a “prolonged process” and was issued after “prolonged discussions”.
The condemnation by the UN organ comes a day after Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met top UN leaders including with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council President Anatolio Ndong Mba of Equatorial Guinea, briefing them about the escalating tensions in the region in the wake of the Pulwama attack. In a major boost to India’s efforts to get Azhar on the list of global terrorists, France is expected to soon move a proposal in the Sanctions Committee to ban the head of the UN-proscribed group. (PTI)
