Pakistan Views UNSC Meeting On Kashmir As 'Right' Step To Asses Situation - Dip. Source

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2019) Pakistan views the upcoming meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the state of Jammu and Kashmir as a positive move that would allow UN diplomats to evaluate the situation in the region, a diplomatic source told Sputnik.

On Friday, the Security Council, at the request of China, plans to convene behind the closed doors for the discussion of Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of India's decision to remove the region's special status.

"We believe that this is a step in the right direction," the source said on Thursday. "Consideration of Kashmir in the Security Council after the gap of around 55 years is something that is pretty significant... that will give a new perspective to Council to see what is really going on in Kashmir."

The last time the issue of Jammu and Kashmir was on the UNSC's agenda was the meeting on December 21, 1971, which followed by the adoption of a resolution calling for a durable ceasefire, the halt of all hostilities in conflict areas and the provision of international assistance to refugees impacted by the territorial dispute.

The source added bringing the question of Jammu and Kashmir to the UN's International Court of Justice could be an "option" for Pakistan; however, the focus at the moment is on "what is really going on at the UN.

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Friday's meeting was prompted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi who in a letter addressed to Security Council President Joanna Wronecka requested to convene the consultations on Jammu and Kashmir, citing a number of human rights violations allegedly committed by the Indian authorities before and following the decision to revoke the special status of the state and threats to international peace and security this action might pose.

On August 5, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind signed a decree removing Article 370 of the Indian constitution that had ensured Jammu and Kashmir's special status. Under the Indian government's new initiative, Jammu and Kashmir will be divided into two territories.

The move incited the protests from Pakistan that disputes the larger Kashmir region, which India's Jammu and Kashmir is part of. On Tuesday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a letter, addressed to the Security Council President, Joanna Wronecka, requested to convene the consultations on Jammu and Kashmir, citing human rights violations allegedly committed by the Indian authorities before and following the decision to revoke the special status of the region and threats to international peace and security this action might pose.