India was elected to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member with a thumping majority of votes, including that of Pakistan, in what was quickly described by New Delhi as significant.
“Of course it is of significance,” said Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s envoy to the UN, in response to a question of whether India viewed this positively.
“It proves that those who are sceptical on India-Pakistan cooperation in the UN... it proves them wrong,” he told PTI, after the vote.
Only a day earlier, however, diplomats both countries had argued about Kashmir at the UN with Congress MP Charan Das Mahant asserting that Kashmir was an integral part of India, “and that its people have regularly expressed their will in free and fair elections“.
Pakistani delegate Tahir Andrabi who had spoken later said, no electoral exercise in Jammu and Kashmir can substitute a “free and impartial plebiscite” mandated by Security Council resolutions.
Puri, however, stressed that India and Pakistan had not clashed over Kashmir but were reiterating their longstanding positions.
“Yesterday what happened was not a spat,” the Indian diplomat said.
“I’m not going to comment on Pakistan’s statement... India’s position is crystal clear... Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India... Jammu and Kashmir has periodic franchise through elections,” he added.
While India got 187 votes out of 191, with one country abstaining, two of the other three votes went to Pakistan and Swaziland.
Since the voting is done by secret ballot, it is not clear who cast those votes. Puri, however, confirmed it was not Pakistan.
“As long as I know that Pakistan voted for India, it doesn’t matter who in a mischievous way cast a vote for Pakistan,” Puri said.
“It was clearly designed to create a bit of confusion,” he said.
India, which is a founding member of the UN, is returning to the Security Council after a gap of 19 years.
It has been on the Council six times before-having last served in 1992.
India’s term for the next two year begins in January 2011.
