After a gap of seven years, India may again become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as 55 Asian-pacific countries have endorsed its candidature for a two-year term.
India's non-permanent membership at UNSC ended in 2012. Syed Akbaruddin, India's representative at the UN, tweeted that in a unanimous step all the 55 countries of the Asia Pacific Group at the UN endorsed India's candidature. "Thanks to all 55 members for their support," he said.
Significantly, Pakistan too supported India's campaign to attain a two-year membership as the non-permanent member at UNSC. Before that, India held the membership during 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12.
Last year, the then Indian external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, had sought cooperation from the member countries during a meeting of SCO council of foreign affairs ministers in Bishek for its candidature as a non-permanent UNSC member for the term, 2021-2022 and 2027-2028.
Interestingly China, which is the only Asian country among the five permanent members at UNSC along with United States, United Kingdom, Russia and France, is against having India as another permanent member.
China's proximity to Pakistan and its efforts to keep India out of the powerplay in Asia has pitted it against India. The Narendra Modi government, in its previous tenure, made another diplomatic win when the United Nations declared Jaish-e- Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist despite the attempts by China to block such a move.
India's re-election to the UNSC would also help in its efforts to crush terrorism from across the border in Jammu and Kashmir. After the Pulwama terrorist attack that killed 44 security personnel, India garnered support in its drive to conrer Pakistan globally over its failure to shut down terror training camps on its soil.
