New Delhi: Pakistan on Tuesday moved the United Nations Security Council over India's decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir after claiming that it has the backing of China, but Beijing has not made any statement on this aspect, nor has it answered any questions on the issue.
Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, for the second time in four days, had claimed that it has the support of China in its decision to seek a UN resolution on Kashmir to resolve the issue. In his letter to the Security Council, Qureshi said, "Pakistan will not provoke a conflict. But India should not mistake our restraint for weakness."
"If India chooses to resort again to the use of force, Pakistan will be obliged to respond, in self defence, with all its capabilities," he said, adding that "in view of the dangerous implications" Pakistan requested the meeting of the UNSC.
It was not immediately clear how the 15-member council would respond to the request and whether a member of the body would also need to make a formal request.
Poland, which holds the rotating presidency of UNSC this month, has expressed hope "that both countries can work out a mutually beneficial solution bilaterally."
Speaking to News 18, the Polish Ambassador to India, Adam Borakowski, however said, "As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Poland stands ready, if needed, to engage in preventing actions impacting security situation."
India has said that the Parliament’s move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 doesn't impact the Line of Control (LoC), and hence, it doesn't warrant the sharp reaction seen from Islamabad.
When the matter was raised by the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, he clarified that "these changes had no bearing on Pakistan as it was an internal matter. It did not impact the LoC."
On August 9, a day before SM Qureshi's first statement of support from Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying had said, "China noted the relevant statement by Pakistan. The pressing priority is that the relevant party should stop unilaterally changing the status quo and avoid escalation of tensions. We call on Pakistan and India to resolve disputes through dialogue and consultation and jointly uphold regional peace and stability."
India also asked China to "base it's assessment on realities." This as Qureshi had made a hurried visit to China just two days before S Jaishankars's scheduled visit to Beijing.
So far, there hasn't been any statement from China suggesting it will back Pakistan on the UNSC move though Beijing had its own concerns about the Union Territory of Ladakh that had to be clarified by the EAM.
S Jaishankar told Wang Yi on Monday that "there was no implication for either the external boundaries of India or Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. India was not raising any additional territorial claims. The Chinese concerns in this regard were therefore misplaced."
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