UNSC to discuss Kashmir on Friday: Pakistan state media
After Pakistan, China also seeks emergency United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss crisis in Kashmir
The UN Security Council (UNSC) will meet tomorrow to discuss the Kashmir dispute on Friday, Pakistani state media reported on Thursday.
The development came after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi this Tuesday formally asked Security Council President Joanna Wronecka, Poland's ambassador to the UN, for an emergency meeting on the disputed Kashmir region triggered by India's unilateral move on Aug. 5 to change the status of the region under its control.
"This is a big success for Kashmir and Pakistan. The debate is happening after many decades," state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
Soon after Pakistan urged the UN body to meet, China also submitted a formal request seeking a session on Kashmir, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported from the UN in New York.
"China asked for closed consultations on the Security Council agenda item 'India Pakistan Question.' The request was in reference to the Pakistani letter to the Security Council president," PTI quoted an unnamed UN diplomat as saying.
"A request for such a meeting was submitted very recently, but no date has yet been scheduled for it," the diplomat added.
The council has five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members and is currently chaired by Poland.
Qureshi sent a formal letter to Wronecka through the country's UN Ambassador Maleha Lodhi to convene the meeting. The letter will also be shared with all members of the council.
On Aug. 5, India revoked the limited autonomy of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region under its control, which had been guaranteed under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.
The Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi further downgraded and divided the region into centrally-controlled "Union Territories."
The region, home to over 12 million people, is under complete lockdown, with a massive troops deployment to thwart any protest against India's move. The Indian government has cut all means of communication of Jammu and Kashmir with the outside world.
It was in 1998, under Resolution 1172, that the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region was addressed in Security Council resolutions after Pakistan conducted nuclear tests.
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