Islamabad
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday welcomed the meeting held at the United Nations Security Council, on Pakistan’s request to discuss the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. He called it a “mark of solidarity” of the international community with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“We are grateful to all the members of the UN Security Council, especially China for their support in organizing the meeting in the Council,” the foreign minister said in his remarks after the UNSC held meeting on Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
The foreign minister said at Pakistan’s request, the UN Security Council discussed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir for the third time in a year.
He said India took desperate attempts to prevent this discussion and later went to absurd extent to minimize the importance and significance of the meeting.
He said India failed to convince the Council that Jammu and Kashmir was a ‘bilateral issue’ – a mantra that its ideological and expansionist-driven leadership can no longer hide behind the so called ‘Shining India’.
The meeting held on the day Pakistan marked the Youm-e-Istehsal (Day of Siege) of India’s illegal measures in IIOJ&K, signified the fact that Jammu and Kashmir was an international dispute.
“The UN Security Council convened this meeting within 72 hours of Pakistan’s request, has reaffirmed the validity of its resolutions that the final disposition of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute will be made through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations,” he said.—APP
