Pakistan says UNSC meeting shows Kashmir not India’s domestic matter

The 15-member council held a meeting behind closed doors on Friday at the request of China and Pakistan, nearly two weeks after New Delhi, in a surprise move, revoked Article 370 in the Indian constitution that had granted Kashmir special autonomy.
“I think this meeting nullifies that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter for India,” said Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, at a press conference after the meeting on Friday, adding that her country was “grateful to China for calling this meeting.”
“The voice of the Kashmiri people have been heard today. The fact that this meeting took place is testimony to the fact that this is an internationally recognized dispute. This meeting has reaffirmed the validity of the UNSC resolutions on the status of Jammu and Kashmir,” she further said.
Lodhi also noted that Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had conveyed that this was “the first step that we (Pakistan) have taken on behalf of the people of Jammu and Kashmir…the first but not the last step.”
It is quite rare for the UNSC to discuss Kashmir, which has been split between India and Pakistan since their partition in 1947. Both countries claim all of Kashmir and have fought three wars over the territory.
The last time the council met to formally discuss the issue was in 1971.
According to diplomats, Friday's discussion was not considered a full security meeting but rather referred to as closed-door consultations.
China proposed that the UNSC issue a statement on the status quo in Jammu and Kashmir, but the US, France and Germany objected, diplomats said. Such statements are agreed by consensus.
Zhang Jun, China’s permanent ambassador to the UN summed up the discussions, saying that there was serious concern over the situation.  No other members of the UNSC spoke publicly after the meeting.
“They are also concerned about the human rights situation there and also it’s the general view of members that parties concerned should refrain from taking any unilateral action that might further aggravate the tension there since the tension is already very tense and very dangerous,” Zhang said.