NEW DELHI: A “serial borrower” from the IMF, Pakistan is steeped in fanaticism and terrorism, said India at the UN Security Council (UNSC) as Islamabad brought up the Jammu & Kashmir issue in an open debate it organised under its July presidency of the council on peaceful settlement of disputes.The meeting ended with the unanimous adoption of a Pakistan-sponsored resolution urging member states to effectively utilise mechanisms for pacific settlement of disputes as outlined in the UN Charter Article 33, including “negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration… or other peaceful means of their choice”. The resolution did not name J&K or any other issue.In the debate presided over by Pakistan deputy PM and foreign minister Ishaq Dar, the US representative doubled down on President Donald Trump’s ceasefire claims, saying that the US leadership delivered “de-escalations between Israel and Iran, between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, and between India and Pakistan”.After Dar raised issues related to J&K and New Delhi’s decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, Indian ambassador P Harish responded by asserting that it ill behoves a member of the council to offer homilies while indulging in practices that are unacceptable to the international community.“The Indian sub-continent offers a stark contrast in terms of progress, prosperity and development models. On the one hand, there is India which is a mature democracy, a surging economy and a pluralistic and inclusive society. At the other extreme is Pakistan, steeped in fanaticism and terrorism, and a serial borrower from the IMF,” said Harish, adding that zero tolerance for terrorism is one of the fundamental principles that need to be respected while promoting international peace and security.The open debate on unresolved disputes was one of the signature events that Pakistan was organising under its presidency of the council, the other being the upcoming meeting on UN-OIC cooperation. The resolution on pacific settlement of disputes was generic in nature, as it is unlikely it would have found unanimous support from the council by explicitly mentioning or talking about disputes.Pakistan had through the resolution urged full use of all Chapter VI mechanisms of the UN Charter for peaceful resolution of disputes between nations, hoping to spotlight the J&K issue. While Article 33 of the Chapter states that the parties to any dispute shall seek a solution by, among other things, mediation and arbitration, it also says the parties can seek a solution through “other peaceful means of their own choice”. For India, its emphasis on bilateralism in line with the Simla and Lahore Declarations conforms to other peaceful means. Apart from Pakistan, Turkiye was the only country to bring up the J&K issue in its remarks in the open debate.In his remarks, Harish highlighted the fact that the Chapter begins with a recognition that it is the ‘parties to a dispute’ who must first of all seek a solution by peaceful means of their own choice. “National ownership and consent of parties are central to any efforts to achieve peaceful resolution of conflicts,” he said. Harish also said that there should be a serious cost to states who violate the spirit of good neighbourliness and international relations by fomenting cross-border terrorism, while mentioning the Pahalgam terrorist attack and its condemnation by the council that underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terrorism to justice.“India launched Operation Sindoor targeting terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), which was focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature. On achieving its primary objectives, a cessation of military activities was directly concluded at the request of Pakistan,” he said.