Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday hit out at the decision of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to appoint Islamabad as co-chair of its anti-terror panel, saying it was like "asking a cat to protect the milk".

This is the first time a minister in the Narendra Modi government has spoken out publicly on the development.

The government had so far chosen to maintain silence on Pakistan being appointed co-chair of the UNSC's counter-terrorism committee and chair of the Taliban sanctions committee, with the Opposition slamming the development as a collapse of India's foreign policy.

“Pakistan had sheltered the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Its land has been used as a refuge for global terrorist organisations. There, terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar roam around openly, and senior officers of the Pakistan Army attend the funerals of terrorists,” Rajnath said at an event in Uttarakhand.

“Now, the same country is expected to lead the global community against terrorism. This raises serious questions on the intentions and policies of the international system…. This is like asking a cat to guard the milk,” he added.

Last week, 15 members of the UNSC elected Pakistan, a non-permanent member for 2025-26, as chair of the Taliban sanctions committee and co-chair of the counter-terror committee. The development coincided with India's global outreach against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

The defence minister said the global community and organisations, including the UN, should deliberate on issues such as terrorism more seriously. He also urged the world to put strategic, diplomatic and economic pressure on Islamabad to clamp down on terrorism emanating from its soil.

“Only when we are free from terrorism will we be able to move towards the goal of global peace, progress and prosperity. The common people of Pakistan are of the same view, but the rulers there have put the country on the path of destruction,” Rajnath said.

He said the Pahalgam massacre was an attack on the unity of the country, and India took strong action by destroying terror bases and related infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK.

He highlighted the steps taken by the government to strengthen the defence sector, including hiking the defence budget from ₹2.53 lakh crore in 2013-14 to ₹6.22 lakh crore in 2024-25.