Saturday, August 17, 2019

After failed UNSC move, Imran Khan says 'ensuring resolution to Kashmir issue responsibility of this world body'

US President Donald Trump has already asked Pakistan PM Imran Khan to resolve the issue through bilateral dialogue.


A day after China-Pakistan initiative to rake up Kashmir at United Nations found no support at the United Nations Security Council Consultative (UNSCC) meet on Friday, a rattled Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said he welcome UNSC discussions on Jammu & Kashmir.
"I welcome the UNSC meeting to discuss the serious situation in Jammu & Kashmir. It is for the first time in over 50 years that the world’s highest diplomatic forum has taken up this issue. There are 11 UNSC resolutions reiterating the Kashmiris right to self-determination."
However, even after US President Donald Trump asked Pakistan to resolve the issue through bilateral dialogue, Imran Khan once again tried to play his Kashmir propaganda saying, "And the UNSC meeting was a reaffirmation of these resolutions. Therefore addressing the suffering of the Kashmiri people and ensuring resolution of the dispute is the responsibility of this world body."
Apart from US, other nations including Russia, France have called that Kashmir issue should be resolved bilaterally.  
Meanwhile, addressing a presser at the UNSC, India's permanent envoy to United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin on Friday had already conveyed, "Article 370 is internal matter... these have no external ramifications."
Addressing a Pakistani reporter's query on when talks with Islamabad will take place, Akbaruddin said, "Using terror to push goals is not the way normal states should behave. Stop terror to begin talks."
Akbaruddin spoke to the media after the representatives of China and Pakistan had spoken and took questions unlike his counterparts. He took first three questions from Pakistani journalists and even went to them to shake hands in a gesture reflecting India's willingness to engage in a dialogue provided there was no push to terror.
Akbaruddin said that matters related to Article 370 of Indian Constitution "were entirely an internal matter of India".
Asked about India refusing dialogue with Pakistan, Akbaruddin said there are normal diplomatic ways of dealing with countries. "But using terror to try and push your goal is not the way that normal states behave. No democracy will acknowledge or accept talks when terror thrives. Stop terror, start talks," he said.
Russia, France and the US backed India at the consultations.
First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia, Dmitry Polyanskiy said, "We will open-heartedly continue to engage with Islamabad and New Delhi in order to help both of them to come to terms and have good neighbourly ties on Kashmir on the basis of Simla Agreement of 1972 and Lahore declaration of 1999."

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