Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India] : Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held a closed-door session in New York. However, Indian Congress leader and former UN Under-Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor said Tuesday that he did not expect anything concrete to emerge from the meeting.
Tharoor, who represents Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha, told:
“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.”
He explained that the nature of such UNSC consultations—being confidential and informal—means outcomes are usually limited to broad statements on peace and counterterrorism, rather than enforceable resolutions.
“Meeting Did Not Go Well for Pakistan”
According to unofficial briefings, Tharoor said, the session did not favor Pakistan, despite the country calling for the emergency meeting as a non-permanent UNSC member.
“The impression is that the delegations asked tough questions, particularly about Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and the concerns were largely about terrorism,” he added.
Sources in New York confirmed that UNSC members rejected Pakistan’s ‘false flag’ narrative and instead emphasized the need for accountability over the Pahalgam attack. Some members also raised concerns over terrorist targeting of tourists based on religious identity.
“Everything we hear is not official or confirmed,” Tharoor noted, “but what we do hear suggests Pakistan failed to control the narrative inside the room.”
“Sad Reality” of International Diplomacy
Tharoor characterized the meeting’s likely outcome as a “call for peace and concern about terror in general terms,” without direct implications for either side.
“That is the sad reality of the way these things function,” he said, adding that neither India nor Pakistan should expect the UNSC to tilt the balance decisively.
There was no public statement issued by the UN following the consultations—underscoring the limited scope of the meeting, which was held behind closed doors with no media or audience present.
Background:
The emergency consultation was requested by Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, where multiple civilians were killed. India has blamed Pakistan-backed groups, including the proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, for orchestrating the violence.