Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, on Tuesday, called on the UN leadership to play their part in diffusing the fast-escalating tension between Pakistan and India in the wake of the terror attack in Pulwama last week. In her conversation with media sources, Ambassador Lodhi talked about her meetings with UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and UN Security Council (UNSC) President, Anatolio Ndong Mba, where she stressed on the need to find a peaceful solution to the longstanding dispute in Indian-held Kashmir according to several UNSC reloutions.
She informed the UNSC president of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s public offer to hold a dialogue on issues including Kashmir with India, which was met with an irresponsible no-talk posture by India, threatening to put the peace of South Asia at stake.
In response to Indian allegations on Islamabad over the attack in Pulwama, the ambassador said, “I regretted that the knee-jerk Indian reaction was an all too familiar attempt to blame Pakistan without any credible investigation to determine facts.”
She asserted that the tragedy of Kashmir was systematic and historical due to the decades’ long denial of Kashmiri’s fundamental rights through brutal force, and their widespread marginalisation.
“Indian brutality and oppression have been met with an intensification of the indigenous Kashmiri struggle against Indian occupation,” Ambassador Lodhi added.
“For the Kashmiri people, every victim is not just another statistic – it is a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, a friend or a ward; with every fallen martyr, a part of them is also slain,” she maintained.
As many as 500 Kashmiris were killed last year, making it one of the deadliest years for the Kashmiri struggle against the Indian occupation.
She was particularly concerned over jingoistic statements from Indian leaders to threaten Pakistan, which would, in turn, continue to act with restraint. Yet, as PM Imran Khan said, any Indian misadventure will invite retaliation from Pakistan, the envoy added.
The ambassador also drew attention to how these threats could well undermine efforts to peacefully settle Aghan conflict and asserted that the prime minister had already offered to investigate the matter in the light of any intelligence provided by India.
The secretary-general told Dr Lodhi that he was closely following the developments during the “troubled times” for the region. He has read Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s letter and is also aware of PM Imran’s address to the nation, she added.
The UN chief also offered his offices to the ambassador to help defuse the tensions.
In a policy statement issued in February 19 over Indian threats of military action in the wake of an attack in Pulwama in the Indian-held Kashmir that killed nearly 40 Indian army personnel on Feb 14, Pakistani prime minister had cautioned, “I have been hearing and seeing on Indian media that their politicians are calling for revenge from Pakistan. If India attacks, then Pakistan will not think but retaliate,” he cautioned.
He stressed that just like the Afghan conflict, Kashmir issue could only be resolved through talks.
Published in Daily Times, February 21st 2019.
