Updated on
Summary Pakistan, Morocco, Guatemala and Togo all secured two-year seats on the council.
Pakistan envoy played down fears of conflict with India and the United States on the UN Security Council as it was among four countries which won seats on the UNs most powerful body.Pakistan, Morocco, Guatemala and Togo all secured two-year seats on the council.But a battle between Azerbaijan and Slovenia for a fifth available seat on the Security Council went into multiple rounds of voting as neither could get the required two thirds majority in the 193 member UN General Assembly.The election to the 15-member council was one of the most hotly contested in years. The new countries will replace Bosnia, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria.Pakistan won the Asia-Pacific seat, getting 129 votes, the minimum required, to 55 for its only rival Kyrgyzstan.Morocco secured 151 votes to take one of Africas seats in the first round. It will also become the Arab representative on the council on January 1. Moroccos foreign minister accused the African Union of trying to block his countrys candidacy.Togo took the second African seat in the third round of voting when it secured 131 votes to 61 for Mauritania.Guatemala secured its seat unopposed, although two countries abstained.In the race for a seat for Eastern Europe, Azerbaijan (74 votes), Slovenia (67) and Hungary (52) fell well short of the required majority in the first round. Hungary had to drop out but three rounds of voting failed to find an immediate winner.Pakistan will join nuclear-armed rival India on the Security Council for the next year. It will also be next to the United States, which has given stern warnings in recent weeks about the activities of militant groups in Pakistan.Pakistan is expected to side with China, Brazil, South Africa and India in any opposing efforts by the United States and its allies to sanction Syria or Iran.Pakistans UN envoy, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, played down fears of tensions on the council.India will stay on the council through 2012. The two, who have fought three wars since 1947, have been on the body together at least twice in the past seven decades.Haroon said Pakistan would fight for the underdogs on the council and added: Hopefully we will be working with all the other members of the Security Council especially India.He said he had a good working relationship with Indias UN envoy, Hardeep Singh Puri. You have seen that the usual tendencies have not erupted between us and that is a good factor.Perhaps both of us have been beneficial in starting dialogue between both the countries.The Pakistan envoy acknowledged differences with the United States over the presence of militant groups.We have our points of view and I think the best we can do is sit together and talk and resolve these issues, he said.I dont think there is going to be any winners in anything that comes into a larger conflagration.
