In what should be music to India's ears, the US has proposed that regimes which threaten their neighbours and support terrorism should be declared ineligible for the membership of the UN Security Council.

Presenting a seven-point proposal for reforming the UN, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisation Affairs, Kim R Holmeshas, said: "A regime that threatens its neighbours, supports terrorism and abuses the rights of its citizens should be ineligible for Security Council membership."

India accuses Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Holmeshas also proposed on Friday that Japan be made a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Japan's budget assessment is twenty thousand times greater than the lowest assessment, which is paid by over 40 nations. Yet, Japan does not have a seat on the UNSC, he said.

"We support exploring ways to make the Security Council more truly representative. The best way to do so is to ensure that democratic countries serve on it," Holmeshas said.

He said members of the Security Council and other international bodies, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, need to "gather the will to enforce existing obligations. Governments should focus on resolving the concrete cases at hand, which can no longer wait, such as Iran's nuclear programme."