42nd UNHRC session: India-Pak clash on Kashmir issue

New Delhi, Sep 09: The United Nation's Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is likely to hold an India-Pakistan clash as Islamabad gets ready to rant about Kashmir at the forum. The 42nd session of the UNHRC will take place on September 9-13 in Geneva.

Meanwhile, India has drawn a detailed Plan of Action (PoA) to counter Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir at the session that begins on Monday. Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will speak at the council on Tuesday at 3.30 pm. Hence, Pakistan has planned to table a resolution on Kashmir issue on the forum.

Reportedly, India on its part will have a secretary-level official leading the delegation who would be assisted by India's ambassador to the United Nations, Rajiv Kumar Chander and Ajay Bisaria.

As Pakistan has all set to move a resolution on Kashmir at the forum, India is also prepared to present a counteroffensive.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has engaged with all 47 member states of the UNHRC, including China. The European bloc constitutes an important part of the human rights proceedings and India has seen the highest level of engagements.

India may get support from some of the member states from the European bloc such as Italy, Spain, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic; India is also engaging nations that are not current members of UNHRC but are great influencers in the region like Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

The West Asian Muslim nations are very important- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar are important votes for India.

However, India also expects support from countries like- Japan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Egypt, South Africa, some other African nations, Australia.