Pakistan reaches out to UN veto-wielding powers

ISLAMABAD: As the United Nations Security Council took up the Kashmir dispute after five decades, Prime Minister Imran Khan called up US President Donald Trump to rally support against India’s illegal annexation of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

In a televised statement, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the prime minister has also reached out to four out of five heads of veto-wielding permanent member states of the UN Security Council over the issue. “We’re also trying to contact the French president so that his country understands our position,” he added.

Prime Minister Imran conveyed to President Trump Pakistan’s concern on the recent developments in Occupied Kashmir and the threat they pose to regional peace. The situation in Afghanistan also came up for discussion during the telephone conversation, Qureshi said.

Prime Minister Imran said Pakistan has been playing a constructive role to restore peace in strife-torn Afghanistan and would continue to do so in future too. “The conversation between the two leaders was held in a cordial environment and they agreed to remain in contact over the Kashmir issue,” he added.

Earlier, Qureshi contacted his counterparts from the non-permanent members of the Security Council, including South Africa and Dominican Republic. He also spoke with the foreign ministers of Spain and The Netherlands and apprised them of the regional in occupied Kashmir.

Qureshi told them that India was continuing human rights violations in occupied Kashmir, where the 12-day clampdown had made life of people very difficult. He warned that the illegal Indian move was a threat to regional peace.
Qureshi made a telephone call to his counterpart of Dominican Republic Miguel Octavio Vargas and apprise him about the recent spate of violence and oppression unleashed by the Indian forces in Occupied Kashmir.

He said that the people in Occupied Kashmir were now facing shortage of food and medicines due to curfew. The voice of the Kashmiri people was being suppressed through restrictions on media, he added. Octavio said assured his full support in this regard. “We are observing the situation in Kashmir.”

Qureshi on Friday also spoke by telephone with his South African counterpart,Dr. Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, and apprised her of the prevailing situation in Indian-Occupied Kashmir. Qureshi said that India was committing worst form of human rights violations in the occupied valley.

He also said that the people of Kashmir were facing great difficulties due the curfew which has been imposed by India for the past 12 days. He added that Kashmiris have no access to medicines and food while all sources of communications, including cellphones and internet, have been blocked.
Dr Pandor said that they were monitoring the whole situation. Expressing concern over the situation in Kashmir, she added that she would contact the parliamentarians of her country over the matter.

She hinted at bringing a joint resolution from the South African parliament about the Kashmir situation.

Meanwhile, Qureshi telephoned his Spanish counterpart, Josep Borrell, and highlighted the illegal and unilateral steps, taken by India to change the status of Occupied Kashmir and its demographic structure. He said that these steps were in contravention of the UNSC resolutions on Kashmir and the international law.

Foreign Minister Borrell stated that they were closely monitoring the situation and that any further escalation would have severe impact on the peace and security in the region. He added that Spain and the European Union would make every effort to ensure peace and stability in South Asia.

In his conversation with Foreign Minister Stef Blok of The Netherlands, Qureshi apprised him of the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in the occupied. He said there were apprehensions of genocide and ethnic cleansing of Kashmiris by India.