Kashmir: UNSC likely to hold ‘closed door’ meeting on China’s request

The UN Security Council is likely to hold a "closed door" meeting to discuss India's move to revoke Article 370 of its Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, media reports said on Thursday. It is being speculated that the meeting will be held on Friday.

According to Sputnik, China requested to conduct this session as China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. China has formally asked for "closed consultations" in the UN Security Council to discuss India revoking the special status to Jammu and Kashmir after Pakistan, Beijing's closest ally, wrote a letter on the issue to Poland, the Council President for the month of August, a top diplomat at the United Nations said.

UNSC President Joanna Wronecka told reporters on Wednesday said that they would discuss "the Jammu and Kashmir situation behind closed doors most likely on August 16", according to the reports.

The development comes after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday night said that he wrote a letter to the UNSC President, asking the latter to convene an emergency meeting of the Council to discuss India's "illegal actions" that also "violate UN resolutions on Kashmir”.

Qureshi met China’s Foreign Minister on his visit to China Wang Yi and said he assured China’s full support to Pakistan at the UNSC.

The Minister stated in the letter that if "India continues the acts of aggression then Pakistan will not stay silent”.

Other member states such as Russia said that the actions taken by the Indian Government was under India’s constitutional framework and was not undemocratic. Russia also said that the Kashmir is a bilateral issue and it should be resolved in that way.

Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad have heightened following India's move on Kashmir earlier this month. Beijing also intervened in this issue as it controls a major part of Jammu and Kashmir called ‘Aksai chin’ which they captured after the Sino-Indo war of 1962.

China’s interest in the Kashmir issue also stems from the China Pakistan Economic Corridor which crosses POK.

Following that, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic relations by expelling the Indian High Commissioner and suspended trade ties with India.

Later, Pakistan announced suspending the Thar Express and Samjhauta Express, connecting the two countries. It also banned Indian films from being screened in cinemas across the nation.