NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday (today) will meet on the issue of Occupied Kashmir at China’s request, after the same approach was canceled due to France on December 17, 2019.
The meeting was first scheduled on December 17 but in the meantime, faced a snub from France, which considered the issue of Occupied Kashmir as a mutual issue amid Pakistan and India.
Meanwhile, this will be the second of such gathering by the UNSC after the Indian government revoked the special status of Kashmir, the only Muslim majority state in India.
The last sitting of the UNSC got on August 16, which though remained unsuccessful. That France, called it “any other business”, and Russia had argued to hold such meeting behind closed doors.
The UNSC comprises five permanent members, the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France. Thus, any proposal of the UNSC could be put down, if any of these members stand against the proposal.
Be that as it may, the current development comes after the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi composed a letter to the Security Council on December 12, last year and communicated worry about a potential further acceleration of pressures in the Kashmir region.
Consequently, China’s U.N mission wrote a note to council members by appraising Pakistan’s request.
“In view of the seriousness of the situation and the risk of further escalation, China would like to echo the request of Pakistan, and request a briefing of the Council… on the situation of Jammu and Kashmir,” China’s U.N mission wrote, quoted from the Reuters.
Nevertheless, on August 16 meeting the UN Secretary-General reminded the 1972 Agreement on bilateral relations between India and Pakistan, known as the “Shimla Agreement”, which states that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir is to be settled by peaceful means”, under the UN Charter.
For the time being, the Security Council adopted several resolutions in 1948 and in the 1950s on the dispute between India and Pakistan over the region — One of the resolutions called both nations to “refrain from making any statements and from doing or causing to be done or permitting any acts which might aggravate the situation.”