At
UN
on Sahel,
Pakistan
Opposes "Hot
Pursuit" Like
"All
Means" On
Nigeria
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 26 --
When new
members join
the Security
Council, as
five did this
month, they
bring new
questions, new
red lines and
sore
spots. So it
has been with
Pakistan. At
Thursday's
debate about
the
Sahel region,
the speaker
for Pakistan
took issue
with use of
the
term "hot
pursuit."
While
in his
Council
statement the
Pakistani
representative
did not
further
explain,
outside the
chamber two
explanations
were offered
to Inner
City Press:
most recently
US entries, by
drone and
otherwise, and
further back,
the threat of
such from
India.
Afterward,
the
representative
of a Saharan
country said,
"Mali and
Mauritania
favor hot
pursuit, why
is a country
in another
region
opposing it?"
But that's now
the Council
works:
countries
concerned with
precedents.
Similarly,
and
sticking for
this story
with Pakistan,
after the
bombings in
Kano in
Nigeria claime
by Boko Haram,
the resulting
Council press
statement
took days to
issue. Sources
tell Inner
City Press
Pakistan
opposed
the term "all
means," then
wanted the
usually
standard
provisos about
international
law appended
specifically
to
the phase.
Finally a
previous
model, used
for an attack
in Herat in
Afghanistan in
2010, was
used: "combat
by all means,
in accordance
with the
Charter of the
United
Nations." But
other Council
members
expressed
frustration,
or solicitude
for Pakistan
being new on
the Council.
After
the Sahel
debate, a
press
statement that
was circulated
was not agreed
to. South
Africa
complains that
"they want to
say all these
problems
existed before
Libya,"
problems that
are not even
on the agenda
of the
Security
Council.
(c) UN Photo
Pakistan
inUNSC, hot
pursuit and
press
statements not
shown, more to
follow
Another
country
responded that
it all can't
be blamed on
Libya, "that's
politics." And
that's why --
there was no
press
statement on
Thursday.
Watch this
site.
Footnotes:
Thursday it
was agreed to
have the Arab
League's Syria
briefing of
the Security
Council at 3
pm on Tuesday,
the last day
of South
Africa's
presidency of
the Council.
Next is Togo,
which Inner
City Press is
told has just
brought in
five more
people from
Lomo to staff
its mission.
Togo's
president is
slated to
come, for now
on February
21; the
debates should
including the
Sahel. Watch
this site.
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