Pakistan on Saturday said it would move a motion at the United Nations Security Council with China’s support to condemn India for revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy and bifurcating it, Dawn reported.
“I shared with China that we intend on taking this matter to the UNSC,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters in Islamabad, a day after his quick visit to Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. “I want to tell the nation that they [Chinese leadership] have assured us of their complete support. Not only that, they have also issued instructions to their New York representative to remain in contact with our representative and to keep their consultations ongoing.”
After Friday’s meeting, China had said it was “seriously concerned” about India’s decisions, and urged New Delhi and Islamabad to resolve their differences bilaterally based on the United Nations charter and the 1972 Simla Agreement.
Qureshi said focal persons at the director-general level from both countries would be responsible for coordinating “a joint strategy”. The foreign minister said China considers India’s actions in Kashmir to be unilateral. Qureshi warned India’s actions were an “enhanced threat” to peace and security in the region. “Another worrisome aspect is the further violation of human rights which was always a threat,” he added.
Qureshi said the Imran Khan government feared more bloodshed in Kashmir in coming days, The Express Tribune reported. “We are considering other options as well…,” he added. “We hope there’s no bloodshed, but we see things moving towards further escalation in tension.”
On August 5, India revised Article 370 of Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and ordered all laws to be applicable in the region the way they are in the rest of the country. The contentious law had so far ensured that the state had its own laws, flag and a Constitution. It also removed Jammu and Kashmir’s status as a state, and bifurcated it into two Union Territories.
Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India over Kashmir, responded by downgrading diplomatic ties, suspending bilateral trade, and halting the Samjhauta Express and Thar Express train services between the two countries. India said Pakistan’s reaction was meant to present an “alarming picture” of bilateral relations to the international community. India added that Jammu and Kashmir was its integral part and hence it was an internal matter.
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