Pakistan welcomes UNSC meeting regarding Kashmir
Council meets third time in year to discuss situation after India's annexation
KARACHI, Pakistan
Pakistan welcomed Wednesday the third meeting in a year by the UN Security Council to discuss Indian-administered Kashmir, following New Delhi's move to annex the valley last August.
"This is a mark of solidarity of the international community, and Council members with people of #IIOJK [Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir] subjected to a savage military siege," Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in a series of tweets. "Pakistan is thankful to all members of the UN Security Council, especially China, for the support in organizing today’s meeting on IIOJK.”
The informal meeting by the UNSC followed the first anniversary of India's controversial move to scrap semi-autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir.
"This 3rd meeting in a year by the UN Security Council serves as a stark repudiation to the Indian claim that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter and further reaffirms the validity of UN resolutions on the Kashmiri’s right to self determination through an impartial plebiscite," said Qureshi.
India’s illegal, and unilateral actions, he said, sought to change globally recognized disputed status and alter the demography of the disputed valley.
"Despite Indian lobbying attempts, today’s deliberations reflect intl community’s grave concern for peace, security and human rights in IIOJK," he said.
India’s "gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity in IIOJK" remain a grave concern for the international community, he added.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts but claimed by both in full. A small sliver of the region is also controlled by China.
Since it was partitioned in 1947, New Delhi and Islamabad have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.
Some Kashmiri groups have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
Already strained relations between the two neighbors further plummeted after India's controversial move last year.
On Aug. 5, 2019, the Indian government revoked Article 370 and other related provisions from its Constitution, scrapping the state with its autonomy. It was also split into two federally administered territories.
Simultaneously, it locked down the region, detained thousands of residents, imposed movement restrictions and enforced a communications blackout.
