Pak raises Kashmir issue with Security Council President
United Nations, Apr 07: Pakistan has raised the Kashmir issue with UN Security Council President, saying the situation in the Valley and the “escalation” of tension along the Line of Control pose a threat to international peace and security.
Pakistan’s envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi yesterday in a tweet said that she raised the issue of Kashmir with President of the Security Council for the month of April Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, the Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations.
She said the “grave situation” in Kashmir and “escalation on the LoC pose a serious threat to international peace and security.”
Lodhi also discussed the Kashmir situation with members of the Pakistani and Kashmiri community at Pakistan’s mission yesterday at a meeting to mark ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’, she said in another tweet, posting pictures of the event.
Earlier, Lodhi had tweeted that Pakistan will continue to support the “heroic struggle of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters.”
Lodhi repeated her stance that a “peaceful settlement” of the Kashmir issue in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions is a “pre-requisite for lasting peace and stability” in South Asia.
Pakistan continuously raises the Kashmir issue at the UN seeking the world body’s intervention in the dispute with India. But New Delhi has always maintained that Kashmir is a bilateral issue with Islamabad.
While UN Secretary General António Guterres has expressed concern at the situation in Kashmir, the UN has maintained that India and Pakistan need to find a peaceful solution through “engagement and dialogue”.
Pak summons Indian envoy over ‘unprovoked’ LoC firing
Islamabad, Apr 07: Pakistan today summoned India’s Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh here to protest “unprovoked ceasefire violations” by Indian forces along the Line of Control.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and condemned the “unprovoked ceasefire violations” today in Nikial sector.
Faisal alleged Indian forces along the LoC and the international border are continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons.
He claimed that “unprecedented” escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when Indian forces committed 1,970 ceasefire violations.
“The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws,” he said adding that ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation.
He urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the international border.
He also urged India to permit the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions.
India maintains that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Shimla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control.
