Envoys from nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan have traded barbs outside the United Nations Security Council chamber, after members met behind closed doors for rare talks on the disputed region of Kashmir. The meeting on Friday came as Indian-administered Kashmir remained under a military lockdown for a 12th straight day following the highly controversial decision by the Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi to revoke the special status accorded to the Muslim-majority state in India’s constitution.
Council members met for 90 minutes amid heightened tensions in the contested Himalayan region, which has long been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan – the two countries, which both claim Kashmir in full but rule it in part, have fought two of their three wars over the disputed territory. India is also fighting a three-decade rebellion in Jammu and Kashmir that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The 15-nation body heard briefings from Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, the UN’s assistant secretary-general for peace building support, and Carlos Humberto Loitey, the UN military adviser for peacekeeping operations. Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, said the council’s first meeting on Kashmir in more than 50 years was only a “first step” that Islamabad would take in support of the people of Kashmir.
Today, the whole world is discussing the occupied state and the situation there. The people of Jammu and Kashmir may be locked up, their voices may not be heard in their own homes and their own land, but their voices were heard today at the United Nations and their voices will always be heard because Pakistan will always stand by them.
GHULAM BAHOO MAITLO
Karachi
