After Article 370 Setback in UNSC, Pakistan to Hold High-Level Meet Today

The UNSC refused to take up the ongoing Kashmir matter and endorse Pakistan's stand on the issue

Islamabad: The Pakistan government will hold a high-level meeting at 11 AM today, a day after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) refused to take up the ongoing Kashmir matter and endorse its stand on the issue.

The meeting, which will see the participation of several Pakistani institutions, has been called up to discuss the next course of action after this latest setback to Islamabad.

Earlier, the meeting was announced by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi after the ‘closed-door’ consultation of the UNSC. The meeting, he said, will deliberate upon what steps can be taken to help and support the people of Kashmir.

When asked about a possibility of dialogue with India, he said that while Pakistan has always pushed for a peaceful resolution, no dialogue is possible under current circumstances.

The UNSC had met on Friday to discuss the ongoing situation in Kashmir. The meeting was called by China, one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, on the behest of its close aide Pakistan. However, the two were isolated as the UNSC called for a bilateral solution of the issue, a call which was echoed by the 10 non-permanent members who were also a part of the meet.

In fact, the Security Council appreciated India’s decision to ease curbs in the Valley, the announcement for which was made just hours before the UNSC meeting.

India responded to the meeting saying that Kashmir was and has always been ‘entirely its internal matter’.

The two nuclear-armed neighbours have been at loggerheads since India on August 5 announced it was revoking Article 370 of its Constitution, a move that stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its ‘special status’. In response, Pakistan has initiated a series of ‘retaliatory’ measures against India, of which moving to the UNSC asking for its intervention, was a major part.