Foreign minister’s letter to UN secretary general on India’s act of aggression circulated in UNSC

Published February 27, 2019
Foreign Minister's letter to UN secretary general has been circulated on Pakistan's request, says Maleeha Lodhi. — Maleeha Lodi's Twitter
Foreign Minister's letter to UN secretary general has been circulated on Pakistan's request, says Maleeha Lodhi. — Maleeha Lodi's Twitter

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's letter to the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres — about India’s act of aggression against Pakistan — was circulated as a document in the UN Security Council at Pakistan's request.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi shared this information on Wednesday via Twitter.

Early on Tuesday, Indian aircraft had violated the Line of Control (LoC), intruding from the Muzaffarabad sector, following which "Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled" and Indian aircraft went back.

Qureshi, in a letter to Guterres, had informed him of the violation and said that the aggressive act by India will have "severe repercussions for the regional peace and security", RadioPakistan reported. The foreign minister also maintained that Pakistan reserves the right to respond in self-defence.

He briefed the diplomatic corps about the Indian breach and refuted New Delhi's claims of having targeted a terrorist camp and killing hundreds of people, calling them "absurd".

"It is completely absurd and is based on a false narrative designed to placate domestic audience," he said.

New Delhi, Qureshi said in his letter, had been issuing threatening statements since the Pulwama attack — in which more than 40 Indian paramilitaries were killed — in order to "divert" the international community's attention from the human rights violations committed by the Indian forces in occupied Kashmir.

UN secretary general calls foreign minister

Guterres called the foreign minister and discussed the regional security situation and assured Pakistan of UN's support, a press statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday. During the phone conversation, that followed the LoC breach, the foreign minister said that he had expressed Pakistan's apprehensions that India might attempt to ruin regional peace for the sake of political gains.

He also referred to the two letters he had written earlier to Guterres as well as the UNSC about the regional situation following the Pulwama attack. Qureshi pointed out that Indian act of aggression is a violation of international laws and UN charter.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Lodhi also held a series of intense meetings with key diplomats and UN officials following the breach, said Radio Pakistan.

“We will not sit back,” she told BBC radio when asked whether Pakistan will respond to India’s attack.

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