Rezaul H Laskar

letters@hindustantimes.com

New Delhi : France and other permanent members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday thwarted an effort by China, acting on behalf of Pakistan, to discuss the situation in Kashmir, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.

China pushed for a meeting of the UN Security Council behind closed doors — the second such effort since an earlier meet on the Kashmir issue on August 16. At that time, China’s attempt to have an open and formal meeting of the Security Council was rebuffed by members of the body, which agreed to hold only “closed consultations”.

The people cited above said France and other permanent members of the Security Council conveyed to China the body was the not the best forum to discuss the Kashmir issue, which ought to be handled bilaterally by India and Pakistan. Non-permanent members of the council, such as Germany and Poland, too, showed no inclination for a discussion on Kashmir, they said.

The Chinese side subsequently withdrew its note seeking the meeting on Kashmir, the people added. “Kashmir will not be discussed in the Security Council today (Tuesday),” said one of them, a French official.

“Our (France’s) position has been very clear — the Kashmir issue has to be treated bilaterally. We have highlighted this several times recently, including in New York,” this person added. The closed consultations on August 16 marked the first time the Security Council took up the “India-Pakistan Question” — the UN’s term for the Kashmir issue — since 1971. Pakistan has been lobbying with China to take up the Kashmir issue in the Security Council since India revoked the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir on August 5 and decided to split it into two Union territories.

In a letter sent to the Security Council on December 12, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi expressed concern about a possible escalation of tensions in Kashmir. According to Reuters, China’s UN mission had written in its note to members of the Security Council: “In view of the seriousness of the situation and the risk of further escalation, China would like to echo the request of Pakistan, and request a briefing of the Council… on the situation of Jammu & Kashmir.” The discussion would not have involved a vote.