At UN Rights Body, India To Rebut Pak On Jammu And Kashmir
GENEVA:
Pakistan, which has been making repeated unsuccessful efforts to flag Jammu and Kashmir at various international forums, today made a pitch at the UN Human Rights Council. The global body, it said, should investigate the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Highlighting the arrest of political leaders and restrictions in the state, Pakistan minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi even cited a "nuclearised" Southeast Asia. India will address the meet at 5.45 pm and then both sides get time later in the evening for rebuttals.
India has always maintained that Kashmir is a bilateral issue. It has also told the international community that the changes made in the status of Jammu and Kashmir is an internal
matter, which most nations have accepted.
The Indian delegation today is being led by Ajay Bisaria, the High Commissioner expelled by Pakistan as part of a five-point plan to downgrade ties with India, and Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary East, who will be addressing the gathering.
The face-off between New Delhi and Islamabad is part of Pakistan's relentless campaign against the Centre's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two union territories.
Pakistan wrote to the United Nations last month, flagging what it called "massive violations of International Human Rights Law" in Jammu and Kashmir. India said the letter was "not worth the paper it was written on".
As Pak, China Talk Kashmir, India Raises Concern Over 'Corridor' In PoK
India today rejected the remarks of Pakistan and its all-weather ally China on Kashmir, where they contended that Kashmir is a "dispute left from history" and the issue should be "peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements."
"We reject the reference to Jammu and Kashmir in the joint statement issued by China and Pakistan after the recent visit of Chinese Foreign Minister. J&K is an integral part of India," foreign ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
India, he said, has consistently expressed concerns to both China and Pakistan on the projects in so-called "China Pakistan Economic
Corridor", which is in the territory of India that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947.
China voiced its "serious concern" after the government's move to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Last month, following a request by Pakistan, China has asked for a closed door UN meeting. But it stood isolated with Pakistan as all member nations - including UK and the US - agreed that the change in Jammu and Kashmir's status was an internal matter for India.
Over the next weeks, India had taken a tough stand. Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said bilateral talks with Pakistan, if any, would be on Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, the territory under Pakistan's control since it invaded the state in 1947.
"If talks are held with Pakistan it will now be on PoK (Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir)," Mr Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"If talks are held with Pakistan it will now be on PoK (Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir)," Mr Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
And during a visit to China, foreign minister S Jaishankar had sent out warning signals, saying the two nations should "ensure that it was important that differences between us, if any, should not become disputes".
Today, reflecting the government's stand, Raveesh Kumar said, "India is resolutely opposed to any actions by other countries to change the status quo in Pakistan occupied J&K. We call
on the parties concerned to cease such actions."
India and Pakistan are expected to face off today over Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Switzerland. Pakistan, which has so far been unsuccessfully flagging the government's move on Jammu and Kashmir at various international forums, has announced that it will speak on the matter.
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