Pakistan opposes creation of new permanent seats at UNSC

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi has said that Islamabasd firmly opposes the creation of new permanent seats at Security Council, it was reported on Tuesday.

Lodhi was addressing the General Assembly session on Security Council Reforms on Monday. She termed the creation of new permanent seats "the antithesis of principles enshrined in the UN Charter," Dawn online reported.

She, however, said that "Pakistan supports expansion of non-permanent seats in the Security Council to make it more democratic, accountable, transparent and effective".

The Pakistan's envoy went on to say that the current long deadlock in Security Council reform process was due to a handful of states seeking to "promote a self arrogated right to an unequal status".

She conveyed Pakistan's stance that, "adding more permanent seats to Security Council will only serve to satisfy the hunger for power and privilege of a few and not address issue of representation."

Earlier in June, Pakistan had questioned how adding new permanent seats to the 15-member body could enhance its representativeness and effectiveness.

Speaking in the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council Reform, Maleeha Lodhi said no cogent answer has ever been given to how the move would make the Security Council more representative.

Adding new permanent members would in fact have the opposite effect, the Pakistani envoy had said.

She has repeatedly said that "the Council needed to be expanded in the category of elected seats, i.e., the non-permanent seats".

--IANS

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