‘Desperate measures’: Govt on China-backed Pak bid to raise Kashmir issue at UNSC

China and Pakistan tried, for the third time, to raise the Kashmir issue at the United Nations on Wednesday but the efforts were thwarted by India’s diplomatic allies.

India on Thursday said that the failed bid by Pakistan to raise the Kashmir issue at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was a desperate measure to peddle baseless allegations.

China and Pakistan tried, for the third time, to raise the Kashmir issue at the United Nations on Wednesday but the efforts were thwarted by India’s diplomatic allies who left Beijing isolated(HT Photo)

“Attempt was made by Pakistan, through a UNSC member, to misuse the platform. Overwhelming majority of UNSC was of view that UNSC was not the right forum for such issues and it should be discussed bilaterally,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Thursday.

“The informal closed door meeting concluded without any outcome. Pakistan’s desperate measures to peddle baseless allegation, and present and alarming scenario, lacked credibility,” Kumar added.

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He also said that Pakistan can avoid such global embarrassments by refraining from such acts in future.

“We hope the message has gone loud and clear to Pakistan that if at all there’s any matter between India and Pak that needs to be discussed, it should be done bilaterally,” said Kumar.

He also said that the snub is a message for China too. “In our view, China should seriously reflect on this global consensus, draw the proper lessons and refrain from taking such action in the future,” said Kumar.

China and Pakistan tried, for the third time, to raise the Kashmir issue at the United Nations on Wednesday but the efforts were thwarted by India’s diplomatic allies who left Beijing isolated, according to officials aware of the development.

China got a “stinging response” when it raised Kashmir at a closed-door informal consultation of the UN Security Council (UNSC), Syed Akbaruddin, the Indian envoy to the UN, said in a late-night tweet on Wednesday.

“Today @UN..our flag is flying high. Those that launched a “False Flag” effort got a stinging response from our many friends...,” he posted. 

The attempts to raise the issue were through a fresh letter by Islamabad to Vietnam (which holds the presidency of the UN Security Council for this month) and an attempt by Beijing to put Kashmir as a topic of discussion during the informal meeting on Wednesday night. The efforts were meant to revive the failed December 2019 bid to raise Kashmir at the UNSC. The UNSC did not take up a Pakistani letter last month after India pushed back strongly with the help of its friends in the council, particularly France and the US.

According to South Block officials, the Chinese-Pakistani plan was meant to set the stage for Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s visit to the US starting Wednesday. Instead, hours before Qureshi’s arrival, the plan unravelled, with India’s allies saying they will stick to their stance that Kashmir was a bilateral issue between Delhi and Islamabad.