The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold a closed-door meeting on Monday, May 5, 2025, to discuss the increasing tensions between India and Pakistan. The meeting was requested by Pakistan, which is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the 15-member powerful UN body. This meeting comes after a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, in which 26 civilians were killed.

Pakistan’s request for the meeting was accepted by Greece, which is presiding over the Security Council for the month of May. The closed consultations will take place on Monday afternoon.

The Security Council includes five permanent members with veto power – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – and ten non-permanent members. The current non-permanent members are Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia.

The Greek Ambassador to the United Nations and the President of the Security Council for May, Evangelos Sekeris, said last week that a meeting should be held if there is a request to discuss tensions between India and Pakistan. He said, “Then… I think this meeting should take place because, as we said, maybe it's also an opportunity to have views expressed, and this might help to diffuse a bit of tension.”

Mr Sekeris also added, “We are in close contact... but this is something which might happen, I would say, sooner rather than later. We will see; we are preparing.”

When asked by PTI about cross-border terrorism from Pakistan targeting India and Pakistan’s position in the Council, Mr Sekeris replied, “It's an issue which is very pertinent.” He clearly said, “As I said before, as a position of principle, we strongly condemn any act of terrorism, and this is what we did,” on the "heinous terrorist attack” that took place in Pahalgam.

He also said, “We express our condolences to the governments of India and Nepal and the families of victims. This is a position of principle. We condemn terrorism in all its forms, everywhere it is happening. On the other hand, we are concerned about this tension which is mounting in the region. Two very big countries. Of course, India is far bigger” than Pakistan.

What steps has India taken after the Pahalgam terror attack?

After the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar contacted all members of the Security Council, except China and Pakistan. During these calls, he said the “perpetrators, backers and planners must be brought to justice.” He had a “good conversation” with Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and “discussed the Pahalgam terrorist attack”.

Mr Jaishankar thanked Greece for its strong stand against cross-border terrorism. He said that India and Greece have a deep “strategic partnership”.

He also spoke to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and foreign ministers of several other countries, including:

  • Russia: Sergey Lavrov
  • United States: Marco Rubio
  • United Kingdom: David Lammy
  • France: Jean-Noël Barrot
  • South Korea: Cho Tae-yul
  • Denmark: Lars Løkke Rasmussen
  • Sierra Leone: Timothy Musa Kabba
  • Algeria: Ahmed Attaf
  • Guyana: Hugh Hilton Todd
  • Slovenia: Tanja Fajon
  • Somalia: Abdisalam Abdi Ali
  • Panama: Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez

These calls show how India has been actively informing and involving other countries in this matter.

What is Pakistan saying at the UN?

Last Friday, Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said that his country has the right to call for a UN meeting whenever it feels necessary. At a press conference, he said, “We see that all of this that is happening is in the context, in the backdrop of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.”

He further explained, “Here it is evident that there was an incident, but now what has evolved in terms of the situation is a real threat to regional and international peace and security, and we believe that the Security Council, in fact, has the mandate, and it would be very legitimate for any member of the Council, including Pakistan, to request a meeting, a discussion of the Security Council, to consider this very serious situation that has evolved.”

He said they had already spoken to previous and current presidents of the Security Council and that Pakistan is observing the situation very closely. “We have the right to convene a meeting when we feel appropriate,” Mr Ahmad said.

He also met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week and shared Pakistan’s concerns about the security situation in the region.

 

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