Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi has called for action on part of the UN to deal with the crisis-like situation stemming from India's “illegal” annexation of occupied Kashmir and to push for the implementation of the Security Council resolutions that pledged the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people.

In an interview with Consortium News, an independent American media outlet, she highlighted the gravity of the situation in the disputed region where people have been suffering under a military lockdown for over a month, and urged UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to take steps to prevent a bigger crisis in South Asia.

“What has happened in occupied Jammu and Kashmir is certainly a flashpoint,” Ambassador Lodhi said, noting that the secretary general and other UN officials have made statements in the wake of the ongoing crisis that called for a settlement of the Kashmir dispute through dialogue between India and Pakistan in accordance with Security Council resolutions and UN Charter provisions.

Examine: Ditched by the ummah

“But we need action. We just don't need words. We need action,” she emphasised.

“There are already tensions which are at a peak between India and Pakistan and the situation can snowball into a much bigger crisis,” the envoy warned.

“So, I think, the UN certainly has long-standing obligations, and it also has immediate obligations, including ending the human rights violations that are going on.”

Ambassador Lodhi said Prime Minister Imran Khan was “absolutely right” in repeatedly warning that the situation in Kashmir could turn into a bigger crisis. “This is a very fraught situation,” she said.

About the UN chief's role, the Pakistani envoy said his offer to mediate the Kashmir dispute has repeatedly been rejected by India.

“So, where are we right now? India refuses to talk to Pakistan, India refuses to accept mediation whether it is mediation offered by President (Donald) Trump or it is offered by UN secretary general, and India refuses to abide by its human rights commitments [...] This is a litany of 'no, no, no' to everything except to repression, oppression, violations and acting with impunity which its occupation forces are doing in Kashmir.”

Asked about the Pakistan Army's statement pledging to exercise all options for Kashmir, Lodhi said: “I think that the intent of that statement was to say that we will stand by the people of Jammu and Kashmir, they are not alone, that we would continue to be their protector and that we would continue to speak out for them and [do] whatever we can do and that all diplomatic and political options will be exercised by Pakistan which is exactly what we are doing.”

About the possibility of a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan, she said that Islamabad does not wish to see any kind of conflict. Pakistan, she added, is a responsible nuclear state.

“That is why we are urging the international community that it must step in before the bigger crisis. We do not wish to see a bigger crisis. There is a crisis that is going on now in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The crisis has affected the daily lives of men, women and children and before it gets out of hand, it's important that the international community acts to prevent any bigger crisis.”

At the outset of the interview, Ambassador Lodhi explained to her audience the main features of the decades-old Kashmir dispute, saying, “The story of Kashmir is a story of monumental tragedy, of broken promises, human rights violations, military occupation and what we see today: a curfew that has lasted for over 32 days with all of Jammu and Kashmir being turned into an armed cage, with people not even allowed to come out of their homes.”

Asked whether India's actions in Kashmir could be compared to what Israel was doing in occupied Palestinian territories, she said that India's August 5 move to revoke Kashmir's special autonomy seemed to be right out of the Israeli playbook and was similar to the way the Israelis have treated the people of Palestine.

“Both issues are about an occupied people and occupied territory. Both issues are among the oldest issues on the UN Security Council agenda. Both issues concern the lack of implementation of UN Security Council resolutions. And both issues are about the plight of the people who have been dispossessed, who have seen their liberty taken away from them in every possible way,” the envoy said.

“So, I think when we talk about the people of occupied Kashmir, we must remember this is about people who are in deep distress, who are held prisoners in their own land, who are not free, whose children cannot go to school [...] What you are looking at is a situation of deep distress."