Washington: India has strongly signalled that any Pakistani amplification of the Kashmir issue at the UN will be at its own diplomatic peril. Diplomatic action heated up after it was revealed that Pakistan's envoy to the US, Maleeha Lodhi has written two letters to the Security Council, including one complaining about India's fencing of the working boundary on the LoC. Indian officials said the letter is based on a Kashmiri extremist Syed Salahuddin, who is considered as a global terrorist by the country. External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup warned Pakistan, hinting at how India would react, by saying, “At the appropriate time we will respond to this.” He jeered at the neighbour's attempt to raise the Kashmir pitch at the global forum and said there has hardly been any action over Islamabad's previous attempts at this at UN, where Kashmir-related resolutions are considered non-binding, infructuous, and broadly overtaken by bilateral agreements.
“Has any action been taken by UN? If there's an action taken by UN, we'll respond appropriately, and if no, it tells that nobody has taken cognizance,'' Swarup told the media. Islamabad has threatened to resurrect the matter with the help of some sympathetic UN officials. But New Delhi's initial response suggests it's ready to hit back hard in international forums where Pakistan already enjoys a dismal reputation for harbouring terrorists and being a nuclear proliferator. Indian sources have also pointed out that not only are UN resolutions on Kashmir infructuous, but they also enjoin Pakistan to vacate Kashmiri territory under its occupation. Modi's government fired the first shot in the diplomatic battle by publicly stating that the only Kashmir matter to be resolves is for Pakistan to return the portion of J&K it holds.
Sharif raises Kashmir issue with UN chief
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raised the Kashmir plebiscite issue with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday and wanted the United Nations Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) strengthened, Pakistani media reported. However, here at the UN headquarters Ban's spokesman only said in a statement that during their meeting "the secretary-general stressed the necessity for Pakistan and India to continue their peaceful dialogue".
The statement said that they also discussed "the fight against terrorism and violent extremism" and that Ban also asked Pakistan "to continue engaging Afghanistan in order to help stabilize the country". India considers the Kashmir dispute a bilateral issue and opposes any international involvement. However, when Sharif spoke soon afterwards at the UN Summit on sustainable development goals, he focused on development and stayed away from bilateral or international issues. He said that "development strategies remain first and foremost national undertakings".
