UNSC meeting a reaffirmation of resolutions for Kashmiris' right to self-determination: PM Imran

Published August 17, 2019
Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed the UNSC meeting on occupied Kashmir held on Friday. — AFP/File
Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed the UNSC meeting on occupied Kashmir held on Friday. — AFP/File

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday welcomed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on occupied Jammu and Kashmir held a day earlier, saying the gathering was a reaffirmation of the council's past resolutions advocating the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

Taking to Twitter, the premier noted that it was for the first time in over five decades that the "world’s highest diplomatic forum" had taken up the issue of occupied Kashmir and the serious situation prevailing there.

"There are 11 UNSC resolutions reiterating the Kashmiris right to self-determination. And the UNSC meeting was a reaffirmation of these resolutions," the prime minister wrote.

Editorial: Is the world prepared to listen to Pakistan's stance on occupied Kashmir?

He said it was, therefore, the responsibility of the Security Council to address the suffering of the Kashmiri people and ensure the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

For the first time since 1965, the UNSC had on Friday held a meeting exclusively on occupied Jammu and Kashmir, nullifying India’s claim that this was an internal matter.

The meeting had been called by China on Pakistan’s request to discuss the prevailing situation in occupied Kashmir following India's move to revoke the region's special status.

Although the council did not agree on a statement, China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun summed up the discussions, expressing serious concern over the situation.

“The UNSC members are concerned about the human rights situation there and they (want) the parties concerned to refrain from taking any unilateral action that might further aggravate the tension there since the situation is already very tense and very dangerous,” he said.

Pakistan’s Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said the meeting brought the Kashmir dispute back to the world’s most influential panel and also highlighted the atrocities Indian troops are committing in the occupied region.

“The voice of the Kashmiri people resonated in the chambers of the world’s highest diplomatic forum today,” she said. “The whole world is discussing the occupied state. This is an international dispute.”

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