Confident UN will do all it can to resolve tensions in Kashmir: Maleeha Lodhi

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Step by step diplomacy being put in place to address the long-standing issue of occupied Kashmir, says Maleeha Lodhi. Photo: Maleeha Lodhi Twitter 
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NEW YORK: Reaffirming Pakistan’s intention to take the case of India’s ‘illegal’ annexation of occupied Kashmir to the UN Security Council, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Maleeha Lodhi said the government was prepared to use any diplomatic and political option to secure justice for the oppressed Kashmiri people.

The Indian government this week rushed through a presidential decree to abolish Article 370 of the Constitution which grants special status to Indian occupied Kashmir, as tensions mounted in the disputed valley with unprecedented numbers of Indian troops deployed in the region.

“We are ready for bilateral, multilateral any format (of mediation) so long as we can get justice for the people of occupied Kashmir,” she said in an interview with Sky News.

Lodhi said India had committed violations of the UN resolutions on Kashmir, besides sabotaging peace efforts made by Pakistan for the region. “Step by step diplomacy is being put in place to address the long-standing issue of Kashmir,” she added.

The Pakistani envoy added, as per the UN charter and clauses, India cannot amend the status of Kashmir.

Earlier, the ambassador while meeting with a top aide of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had urged the UN chief to play his due role in the crisis sparked by India’s unlawful action in occupied Kashmir.

During the meeting with Chief of Staff of the UN Secretary-General Maria Louisa Ribeiro Viotti, the Pakistani envoy asked for the UN chief to demand that India comply with UN Security Council's resolutions on occupied Kashmir that prohibits any alteration in the status of the disputed state.

The Pakistani ambassador had underscored the need for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry, as recommended by the two reports of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that exposed India’s abuses in the occupied valley.