Pak cornered at UNSC, faces heat on terrorism

All options on table if Islamabad fails to take action, says UK

NEW DELHI: The UK on Thursday called for more action by Pakistan to counter terror emanating from its soil against the backdrop of a majority of the members of the UN Security Council rejecting an effort by Islamabad to rake up the Kashmir issue with Beijing’s backing.

Gareth Bayley, the UK prime minister’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said “all options are on the table” if Islamabad fails to implement the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) action plan to counter terror financing and crack down on terrorists operating from Pakistani soil.

India strongly criticised Pakistan and China for raising Kashmir during closed-door consultations at the UN Security Council on Thursday, saying Islamabad’s attempts to “peddle baseless allegations” lacked credibility.

While India has directed its criticism of recent efforts to raise Kashmir at the UN mostly at Pakistan, the external affairs ministry also called on China not to persist with such actions given the lack of support from the world community.

China’s effort to discuss Kashmir at the UN Security Council, the second such move since December, ended without any outcome after members of the body such as the US, the UK and France made it clear the issue should be handled bilaterally by India and Pakistan, people familiar with developments said.

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, a think tank event backed by the external affairs ministry, Bayley said: “It is absolutely clear terrorist groups are operating from within Pakistan. They pose a serious challenge to the government of Pakistan and to South Asia’s regional stability.”

Britain has “engaged hard” on this issue with the top Pakistani leadership and underlined the importance of action against proxy groups, terrorism and extremism, he said.

“So far, there is definitely some progress that has been made, there is so much more progress that needs to be done. We say to Pakistan...a step change is required and Prime Minister [Imran] Khan and army chief [Gen Qamar] Bajwa have made very clear commitments (which) can be seen on public record,” Bayley said.