It was India’s permanent representative to UN, Syed Akbaruddin’s tweet on 15th Jan that flummoxed many. In his tweet he had mentioned–” Today @UN…our flag is flying high. Those that launched a “False Flag” effort got a stinging response from our many friends“. Though Mr. Syed did not post any immediate clarification on what the “false flag” was, now the official spokesperson of ministry of external affairs of India, Raveesh Kumar, has in his press conference removed the smoke screen.
Ostensibly, China and Pakistan had requested the present presidency holder, Vietnam, to allow discussion on Kashmir issue. But most of the members of the UN security council, who had gathered at UN for an informal meeting, declined the request as they called it a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. France was one of the most vociferous nations which, apparently, declared that it would maintain the same stance as it did in December, of not allowing discussion on the topic, as the issue has to be mutually resolved between the two countries in the Indian subcontinent. This is 3rd time after the abrogation of article 370 in Kashmir that China’s request has been rebuffed at UN security council. Kashmir, has been the bone of contention between India and Pakistan, since their independence in 1947. Last year, India turned Kashmir removed it’s special status, and as a result the terrorist activities in the state have been at an all-time low since August 2019.
This incident at UNSC also implies India’s diplomatic win at UNSC; be it Vietnam, France or other members of UNSC, India maintains healthy diplomatic and trade relations with the members. Au contraire, Pakistan’s diplomats and military representatives efforts to persuade American and middle eastern countries to issue a statement against India’s stance on Kashmir has bitten the dust. Presently there are 10 non permanent members and 5 permanent members at UNSC.
After the debacle, Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is presently in New York, had a meeting with UN chief, General Antonio Guterres. But so far, Pakistan’s efforts have not paid dividends, whilst it’s all weather ally China too has not been able to pull it’s weight in the UN security council.
Indian MEA spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar’s, press conference
This article is written by Levina