Yet another attempt by China to internationalise the issue of Kashmir, at the behest of its all-weather ally Pakistan, failed miserably at the United Nations on Wednesday.
China sought a “closed-door consultation” under “AOB” (Any Other Business) at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) after the listed issues were discussed. The meeting was based on the old request of Pakistan and was scheduled for December 24 but could not take place.
Sources have told India Today TV that the second consultation after the August 2019 closed-door meeting on Kashmir also ended with “zero” outcome.
Indian envoy to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin told India Today TV, “We are happy that neither the alarmist scenario painted by neither representatives of Pakistan, nor any of the baseless allegations in UN were found to be credible today.”
There were no takers for China’s request. All other 14 members of the UNSC were of the view that this was not a matter that needed discussion at this point, said a source.
Two countries – France and UK – came out and categorically called it a “bilateral” issue between India and Pakistan.
Russian envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy also agreed Kashmir is a bilateral matter. In a tweet, he said, “UNSC discussed Kashmir in closed consultations. Russia firmly stands for the normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan. We hope that differences between them will be settled through bilateral efforts based on the 1972 Simla Agreement and the 1999 Lahore Declaration.”
French diplomatic sources said, “France has noted the request of a UNSC member (namely China) to raise the issue of Kashmir once again in this body. France’s position has not changed and is very clear: the Kashmir issue must be settled bilaterally as we have stated on several occasions.”