UNITED NATIONS, Aug 16: India today told Pakistan that it has to stop terrorism to start talks as the UN Security Council held a rare closed door meeting to discuss revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Briefing the media following the conclusion of the informal meeting requested by China and Pakistan, Indian envoy to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said India’s position was and remains that matters related to the Article 370 of the Constitution are entirely an internal matter of India and these have no external ramifications.
Without naming Pakistan, he said there are some who are trying to project an “alarmist approach” to the situation in Kashmir, which is far from the ground realities.
“Stop terror to start talks,” he asserted.
On the Chinese and Pakistani envoys’ remarks after the UNSC meeting, he said, “For the first time after the end of Security Council consultations, we noted that two states (China and Pakistan) who made national statements tried to pass them off as the will of the international community.”
He said India is committed to gradually removing all restrictions in Kashmir.
“India remains committed to ensure that the situation in Kashmir remains calm and peaceful. We are committed to all the agreements that we have signed on this issue. We note that there are some who try to project an alarmist approach to the situation, which is far from the ground realities.”
“Of particular concern is that one state is using terminology of jihad and promoting violence in India, including by their leaders. Violence is no solution to the problems that all of us face,” Akbaruddin said, taking a swipe at Pakistan.
After the UNSC meeting, Chinese Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun urged India and Pakistan to settle their differences peacefully and “discard the zero-sum game mentality”.
“We call upon relevant parties to exercise peace and not to take actions that will aggravate tensions,” he said.
Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative, Dimitry Polyanskiy told reporters before entering the meeting room that Moscow’s view is that it is a “bilateral issue” between India and Pakistan.
He said the meeting was being held to understand what is happening.
The outcome of the UNSC meeting will not be a formal pronouncement as the consultations are informal in nature. India and Pakistan did not attend the meeting, which was open only to the five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members. (PTI)
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