Pakistan’s second attempt to garner international support on Kashmir at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), thereby internationalising the issue, has come up short.
Both Pakistan and its ally China, which raised the issue were isolated as the 14 member Security Council yet again reiterated that Kashmir is a “bilateral matter between India and Pakistan”. China had held a closed-door informal consultation on Kashmir in the UNSC.
Briefing media on the outcome, Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to United Nations, said, “We are happy that neither the alarming scenario painted by the representatives of Pakistan nor any of the baseless allegations made repeatedly by various representatives of Pakistan in the UN were found to be credible".
“We are glad that it was pointed out by many friends that bilateral mechanisms are available to raise and address issues that Pakistan may have in its ties with India", Akbaruddin added.
Russia, which had opposed to the motion in the UN, said that it stands firmly for the normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan.
“We hope that differences between them will be settled through bilateral efforts based on the 1972 Simla Agreement and the 1999 Lahore Declaration", said Dmitry Polyanskiy, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN.
India scrapped Article 370 of its Constitution in early August that granted special autonomy to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The provision allowed the state's local legislature, the Constituent Assembly, to make its own laws on certain specified subjects.
Ever since the state was stripped of its special status, Pakistan has been on a diplomatic offensive on Kashmir, alleging human rights violations in the region.
“Pakistan’s practice of using false pretences to distract from addressing the malaise that afflicts it has run its course. We hope that Pakistan pays heed to the clear signals sent out here today and focuses on the hard tasks it has to address in order to ensure normal relations with India", Akbaruddin added.
After the abrogation of Article 370, the Indian government imposed several precautionary restrictions such as suspension of internet services and SMS. Internet services were partially restored on 15 January, while the ban on mobile messages was lifted earlier. Last week, India also took a group of 15 New Delhi-based diplomats on a tour to Jammu and Kashmir for an assessment of the situation on the ground.