'Pakistan thought they had advantage but ...': Shashi Tharoor on closed-door UNSC meet called by Islamabad

NEW DELHI: Congress MP and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said that the recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on India-Pakistan tensions did not go in Pakistan's favour, with several member countries raising difficult questions on terrorism and Lashkar-Taiba (Let), a terror outfit under Islamabad's shelter.Referring to unofficial briefings from inside the closed-door session, Tharoor said, "Everything we hear about this is not official or confirmed, but what we hear, however, from these background meetings is that it did not appear to have gone well for Pakistan as they would have hoped. They are one of the 15 members, they are a member, India is not in the room. In these circumstances, Pakistan would have thought that they had an advantage but the impression is that the delegations asked tough questions, particularly about Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the concerns have largely been about terrorism, how it is extremely dangerous and that it can understandably provoke an Indian reaction."The UNSC held a closed-door consultation in New York after Pakistan, a non-permanent member of the council, called for discussion in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. India is not currently a member of the council.Tharoor told news agency ANI that while no official statement has been released from the meeting, early feedback from diplomatic sources suggest that Pakistan faced pointed scrutiny. Some countries reportedly rejected Pakistan’s attempt to push a “false flag” narrative and instead focused on the role of LeT, a banned terror group with links to Pakistan.The senior Congress leader, who has extensive experience at the UN, also said that the nature of such meetings usually limits outcomes."These were what we call closed-door consultations, I have been there many times. All we hear about these are unofficial background briefings by delegates inside the room, but the room itself is quite small. There are 15 members of the council, their own teams and the secretariat, there is no media, no audience," he said.According to sources quoted by ANI, UNSC members broadly condemned the terrorist attack and called for accountability. Some also raised concerns over reports that the victims may have been targeted based on their religious identity.Tharoor was skeptical about any strong outcome from the session. "It will be more a call for peace and concern about terror in a general kind of language. I am not expecting anything specific out of the Council, either in formal meetings or informal consultations, that will directly affect us or Pakistanis very much. That is the sad reality of the way these things function."He also pointed out that due to China’s position, any resolution against Pakistan would be vetoed, and a resolution against India would not pass either."I am quite confident that the UNSC will not pass a resolution criticising Pakistan because China will veto it, they will not pass a resolution criticising us as many countries will object to it and probably veto it," Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, said.As of now, the UNSC has not issued any formal statement following the "closed consultation".