In a setback to Pakistan, the United Nations has rejected Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan’s appeal for intervention in Kashmir following the revocation of Article 370 by India, the world body has reiterated that it is a bilateral dispute.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appealed for ‘maximum restraint’ over the territory of Jammu and Kashmir. According to the statement of Guterres issued by his Spokesperson, “The Secretary-General has been following the situation in Jammu and Kashmir with concern and makes an appeal for maximum restraint.” and added that the position of the United Nations on this region is governed by the Charter of the United Nations and applicable Security Council resolutions.
“The Secretary-General also recalls the 1972 Agreement on bilateral relations between India and Pakistan, also known as the Shimla Agreement, which states that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir is to be settled by peaceful means, in accordance with the UN Charter.”
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had written to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres claiming abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir violated the UNSC resolution.
Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi had written on Twitter on Tuesday that the letter, written by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would make “clear that the rights of Kashmiris as provided by Security Council resolutions cannot be abrogated by any unilateral action. Compliance of SC resolutions on J&K is essential for peace in our region”.
Earlier, Mr. Guterres appealed to both India and Pakistan to exercise “maximum restraint” and said he has been following the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan rejects India’s move to scrap Article 370
Meanwhile, Pakistan has decided to unilaterally downgrade bilateral ties with India and suspend all bilateral trade activities on Wednesday, in the aftermath of the scrapping of special status to Jammu and Kashmir
On its part, New Delhi has asked Islamabad to review its decision once again so that the normal channels for diplomatic communications are preserved while strictly maintaining that its steps in Jammu and Kashmir are an “entirely internal affair”.
Meanwhile, the international community has urged both the countries to exercise restraint and ensure that peace and stability prevail across the Line of Control (LoC).
