UNSC: India rides on momentum, Pakistan piles up the grievance

Lahore: First, the Indo-US civil nuclear deal and now, perhaps, the unkindest cut of them all - a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. Pakistan's basket of grievances regarding India is overfull and its resentment against the United States - its 'strategic ally' and prime benefactor - must surely be at its peak. 

On Frdiay, Pakistan foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, hastened to assure all and sundry that Pakistan and China had ''a unanimous stance'' that India should be prevented from being accorded a permanent member status in the United Nations Security Council. Qureshi said such an occurrence would disturb the balance of power in the region.

"We have discussed the issue with China, and both countries have unanimous stand in this regard," Pakistani dailies quoted him as saying. Qureshi was responding to a question over China's stance on India's bid to get a permanent seat in the UNSC in his interaction with the media at the Lahore International Airport.

Queried over China's comments on the issue, wherein it has stated that it would engage India in talks over its bid for a permanent seat, Qureshi was at pains to point out that as a responsible state China always used decent diplomatic language when it reacted to international issues.

He said Pakistan was satisfied with China's stance on India's membership.

Elaborating over his country's intense activism to oppose India's bid for permanent membership of the UNSC, the foreign minister said his country was not opposing the Indian move just for the sake of opposition. He said "...we have reasons for it."