United Nations: India has strongly criticised Pakistan for raising the issue of Jammu and Kashmir during an informal United Nations Security Council meeting, asserting that the Union Territory remains an integral part of India and is strictly an internal matter.
The remarks were made by India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, during an Arria-formula meeting of the Security Council held on Tuesday on the theme, “Bridging the Implementation Gap: Enhancing Compliance with Security Council Resolutions for International Peace and Security.”
Responding to comments made by Pakistan during the session, Ambassador Harish expressed strong objection to what he described as the politicisation of the platform.
“I would also like to refer to the unwarranted remarks made by the representative of Pakistan. It is surprising that a co-chair, who is expected to act in an impartial and unbiased manner, has chosen to politicise this platform,” Harish said.
He further reiterated India’s long-standing position on the issue, stating, “The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is entirely an internal matter of India. It always was, it is, and it always will be.”
The Indian envoy’s response came after Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, raised the Jammu and Kashmir issue during his address at the meeting.
India has consistently maintained that matters relating to Jammu and Kashmir are internal affairs and has opposed attempts by Pakistan to internationalise the issue at multilateral forums.
The Arria-formula meeting was convened to discuss challenges in implementing Security Council resolutions and their role in maintaining international peace and security. However, India accused Pakistan of diverting attention from the meeting’s core agenda by introducing bilateral political issues.
The exchange marks the latest diplomatic sparring between the two neighbouring countries at the United Nations over the Kashmir issue.
