Pakistan slams India, others for demanding permanent UNSC seat

United Nations, Feb 7 (IANS) Targetting India, Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi on Tuesday rejected the attempts of countries to seek permanent UN Security Council membership, saying it was "inconceivable" that any institution does not value "principles of representation and accountability" through periodic elections.

The Pakistani Permanent representative did not name the Group of Four - India, Brazil, Germany and Japan - which have been demanding permanent membership of the 15-member body for the past 20 years.

"In the 21st century it is inconceivable to establish or run an institution - national or international - which does not embrace the fundamental principles of representation and accountability with periodic elections and fixed term and rotation...," the ambassador was quoted by the Associated Press of Pakistan as saying at the Intergovernmental Negotiations aimed at expanding the Security Council to make it more representative.

Despite a general agreement on enlarging the Council, as part of the UN reform process, member states remain sharply divided over the details.

Pakistan, a leader in the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group, stands for creating a new category of members - not permanent members - with longer duration and a possibility to get re-elected once.

But the "Group of Four" has been campaigning for enlarging the Council by 10 seats, with six additional permanent and four non-permanent members.

Lodhi said there was no disagreement over the demand that the Council should "reflect the realities of the 21st century" to enhance its legitimacy. "But then some use this disingenuously as an argument to further their self-proclaimed candidacies for permanent seats based on contentious criteria for qualification," she said.

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