Pakistan hits out at India after US backing for UNSC

India's "expansionist designs" were contradictory to the charter of the Security Council, Pakistan said on Tuesday as it again lashed out at the US supporting New Delhi's bid for a permanent seat in the UNSC. The leadership in Pakistani-administered Kashmir joined in the anti- India chorus.

A Foreign Office spokesperson on Tuesday said that "it has taken notice of the (US) president's statement because the stance of Pakistan regarding reforms in UNSC is based on principles".

"The expansionist designs of India in itself are contradictory to the charter of Security Council," he said.

"India's aggression towards neighbouring countries and the violation of UN resolutions on Kashmir are a proof of the apprehensions of Pakistan," a statement said, adding that "the US should focus on the morals instead of backing power politics in the region".

Pakistan also said the US' move would "make the process of reforming Security Council even more complicated".

Obama Monday backed India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Pakistan has always maintained that any such step will disturb the balance of power in the region.

Obama told Parliamentarians in an address: "Indeed, the just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate.

"That is why I can say today - in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed UN Security Council that includes India as a permanent member."

The US president was in India Nov 6-9 on the first leg of a four-nation Asia tour. He reached Indonesia Tuesday and will also go to South Korea and Japan.

The leadership in the Pakistani-administered Kashmir described Obama's announcement as "uncalled for and a setback for the efforts to resolve Kashmir dispute between both India and Pakistan".

Prime Minister of Pakistani-administered Kashmir Sardar Ateeq Ahmad Khan said "Obama's Indian visit should not end without a clear strategy to find a lasting solution to the Kashmir dispute".

"We expect that he'll be alive to the situation and take the sentiments of Kashmiri people into consideration before taking any such policy decision."

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Abdul Rasheed Turbai said "US should make the UNSC seat for India conditional with the settlement of Kashmir problem".

"It is not possible to leave this burning issue aside and take unilateral decisions just to promote business interests in India," Dunya TV reported.

India and Pakistan have fought four wars over Kashmir in the past six decades, with the latest battle taking place at Kargil in 1999.

Security analyst Brig (retd) Aslam Ghumman said that "India will have the veto power if it was elected as a permanent member of UNSC".

"It will mean that India will never let the Kashmir problem resolve," he said.

Political expert Hasan Askari Rizvi said that "the US backing for India should not be seen as a surprise because it had huge political and business interests in the country".

"It is time for Pakistan to re-think its foreign policy to assert the importance of the country in the region," he argued.

An editorial in daily Jang said that "the speech of president Obama in the Indian Parliament was a clear indication of US inclination to the south Asian giant".

"The backing for UNSC permanent seat for India is against the earlier stated policy of US in this regard," it recalled.