Pakistan letter handed to UNSC urging meeting on Kashmir

United Nations: Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations Dr Maleeha Lodhi on Tuesday presented a letter from Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to the Security Council asking for an urgent meeting on the grim situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir.

Ambassador Lodhi presented the letter to UN Security Council President and Polish Ambassador Joanna Wronecka.

The Council president will hold consultations with the Council members and fix a date for the meeting.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Lodhi began meeting the Council members again to update them on the situation in occupied Kashmir.

Last week, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Hindu nationalist government abolished the Indian

constitution’s special Article, which granted special status to occupied Kashmir, as tensions mounted in the

disputed valley with unprecedented numbers of Indian troops deployed in the region. The move by Narendra

Modi’s government rescinded years of autonomy and gave full control of the disputed region to New Delhi.

In another development, Poland’s Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, who is also in New York, said he

hopes India and Pakistan can work out a “mutually beneficially solution” after New Delhi revoked the special status of occupied Kashmir.

Czaputowicz was in New York to address a Security Council briefing Tuesday on ”International humanitarian law – Seventieth anniversary of the Geneva Conventions: upholding humanity in modern conflict.”

Later, Czaputowicz addressed reporters at the UN Security Council stakeout where he was asked that Pakistan has demanded for the Security Council to be briefed on the situation in occupied Kashmir following India’s decision to scrap its special status and whether Poland supports such a request as the Council President.

Czaputowicz said he has had a “phone conversation” with India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the last few days.

“We expressed concerns over current tensions between India and Pakistan resulting from the proposed

changed status of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Poland believes that the dispute can only be resolved by peaceful means and here we fully support the

reaction of the European Union and statement issued by Federica Mogherini.

“We are in favour of dialogue between Pakistan and India to sort out the differences.”

Czaputowicz stressed that as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, “Poland stands ready, if

needed, to engage” in preventing actions in security situation.

He said he was “just informed” Tuesday morning that the Security Council received the letter from the Ambassador of Pakistan.

“I think that the Security Council will discuss that issue and take proper decision.”Lodhi had earlier this month met Wronecka over the Kashmir issue.

The Polish ambassador however declined to comment on the issue. “No comments,” she said at the Security

Council stakeout at the UN headquarters last week, walking away as she was asked about Qureshi’s letter to

the Security Council.