United Nations: India miffed as Pakistan pitches for observers' role in LoC conflict

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The tension between India and Pakistan reared its ugly head at the UN Security Council with both parties sparring over the relevance of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. With Pakistan trying to use its UNSC presidency to internationalise the Kashmir issue in the aftermath of the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers on January 8 - as was reported by Mail Today on January 11 - India stressed that the mission's role has been "overtaken" by subsequent agreements signed by the two nations under which they had resolved to settle differences "through bilateral negotiations". The exchange between the two nations occurred during a UN Security Council open debate on peacekeeping, which was organised by Pakistan under its current presidency of the 15-nation powerful UN body. Presiding over the debate, Pakistan's foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani said his country has been a "proud participant" in peacekeeping missions. "Pakistan is also host to one of the oldest UN peacekeeping missions - the UNMOGIP. This mission has played an important role in monitoring peace along the Line of Control in Jammau and Kashmir," Jilani said. But the reference to the UNMOGIP was rejected by India's ambassador to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri, who suggested that it would be better to spend resources allocated for the observer group elsewhere. "Suffice it to point out that the UNMOGIP's role has been overtaken by the Simla Agreement of 1972 between India and Pakistan, signed by the heads of the two governments and ratified by their respective parliaments," Puri stated. In fact, India's position regarding the UNMOGIP was made evident by national security adviser Shiv Shankar Menon some days ago. Asked about the UNMOGIP at a media briefing in New Delhi, Menon had queried, "did it still exist", clearly making it apparent that India did not see any role for the UN body even though Pakistan has been pressing for it. The Indian envoy's stand mirrors what External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Tuesday. "India will not allow third party involvement and expect Pakistan to handle the issue bilaterally," he said.