New York: Kashmir remains on the UN
agenda even though it was not explicitly mentioned in the
annual report of the Security Council, which only covered
disputes that were discussed from August 2009 to July 2010.
Clarifying why UK`s top envoy Mark Lyall Grand did not
mention Kashmir last week while ticking off disputes under the
Security Council, the British mission`s spokesperson Harriet
Cross said "conflicts mentioned in the statement were
all considered by the SC during this period.
"As Kashmir was not considered by the Council during this
period, it was not mentioned in the report."
The summary of matters, issued in March 2010 by the UN,
noted that the "India-Pakistan question" had not been
considered at a formal meeting during the three-year period
from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009 but the Security
Council remained seized of the matter.
Pakistan repeatedly raises Kashmir as an issue for UN
intervention but India asserts that it is an internal matter.
Since UK holds the presidency of the Security Council for
November, Grant had presented the annual report of the
Security Council on behalf of all the Security Council members
at the annual debate held in the UN General Assembly on
Friday.
Following Grant`s statement, Pakistan objected that he
had not mentioned Kashmir.
Amjad Hussain B Sial, Pakistan`s acting envoy to the UN,
said, "We understand this was an inadvertent omission, as Jammu
and Kashmir is one of the oldest disputes on agenda of the
Security Council."
Cross also said that the UK`s position for India and
Pakistan is "to find a lasting resolution to the situation in
Kashmir, one which takes into account the wishes of the
Kashmiri people."
PTI
