'Asking Cat To Guard Milk': Rajnath Singh Objects To Pakistan's Role At UNSC Anti-Terror Panel

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Pakistan have been appointed to chair the Taliban Sanctions Committee of the UNSC in 2025 and serve as vice-chair of the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee of the 15-nation UN body.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) decision to appoint Pakistan as the vice-chair of its anti-terror panel was like 'asking the cat to protect the milk."
Pakistan will chair the Taliban Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2025 and serve as vice-chair of the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee of the 15-nation UN body.
'The most recent example is that Pakistan has been made the Vice-Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Panel by the UNSC. The surprising thing is that this panel was formed after the 9/11 attacks. And we all know who carried out the 9/11 attacks. It is also not hidden from anyone that Pakistan had sheltered the mastermind of that attack. This is like asking a cat to guard the milk," said Rajnath Singh while addressing the media in Uttarakhand.
'This decision is not only shocking but also reflects the seriousness of an organisation like the UN on the issue of terrorism. How can one forget that this is the same Pakistan whose land has been used as a safe haven for global terrorist organisations," he added.
According to the UNSC, Pakistan will also be co-chair of the Informal Working Groups on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions and on the General UNSC Sanctions Issues.
For the 2025-26 term, Pakistan is a non-permanent member of the 15-nation Security Council. The sanctions committees of the Council include all 15 members of the Security Council and make its decisions by consensus.
The current Security Council comprises five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US, and ten non-permanent members: Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia.
India has held the chair of the UNSC Counter-terrorism Committee for 2022 during its 2021-22 tenure in the Council as a non-permanent member.
Notably, New Delhi has consistently reminded the international community that Pakistan is host to the world's largest number of UN-proscribed terrorists and terror groups.
First Published:
June 10, 2025, 17:21 IST

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