India and Pakistan are expected to talk on Monday about Jammu and Kashmir at the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Switzerland, according to NDTV. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who will lead the delegation from Islamabad, said on Monday that the country would “speak definitively” at the session on “continued Indian atrocities in Kashmir”.
The Indian delegation will be led Ajay Bisaria, the high commissioner who was expelled by Pakistan after New Delhi’s decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Secretary East, Ministry of External Affairs Vijay Thakur will also lead the delegation along with Bisaria.
On Monday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet raised concerns about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. She had also asked New Delhi and Islamabad to ensure that the human rights of the people of Kashmir were respected and protected.
Bachelet’s statement was welcomed by Qureshi and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who called for an independent investigation commission to look into human rights violations in the region. “The time to act is now,” Khan had tweeted.
India and Pakistan have witnessed a massive escalation in tension ever since Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was revoked on August 5. Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India for Kashmir since Independence, has not taken the decision well.
While New Delhi has repeatedly said that its decisions with regard to the region are an internal matter, Pakistan has threatened to take up the matter on several international forums. Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said most countries viewed the Kashmir matter the same way.
Islamabad’s continued efforts for an international intervention in the Kashmir dispute also led to a rare closed-door meeting of the United Nations Security Council. This was the first time in over 50 years that the UN Security Council had a meeting exclusively to discuss the Kashmir matter, but it ended without any outcome.
India has reached out to 47 members of the United Nations Human Rights Council to gain support for its stand on Kashmir. This included members countries from Africa, Europe and the Arab nations, according to Hindustan Times.
Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump, on Monday, reiterated his offer to help India and Pakistan resolve the Kashmir dispute. He had offered to mediate in the Kashmir matter two other times.
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