UNSC meet on Kashmir, a rare first after 54 years

United Nations, Aug 16: The closed door meeting that the United Nation Security Council will hold on Kashmir is a rare one. The meeting to be held today would be a first after 54 years.

The meeting would be held today at 7.30 pm, IST. The last time such a meeting on Kashmir was held was in 1965. The discussions to be held today is being referred to as a closed door consultation. This means it would not be considered a full security meeting.

China had 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 here said.

"China asked for closed consultations on the Security Council agenda item 'India Pakistan Question'. The request was in reference to the Pakistani letter to Security Council President," the diplomat said.

Pakistan formally called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss India revoking the special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently said.

During his bilateral meeting with China's foreign minister Wang Yi on Monday in Beijing, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar conveyed that the decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was an internal matter for India.

He said the issue related to changes in a temporary provision of the Constitution of India and was the sole prerogative of the country.

Jaishankar noted that the legislative measures were aimed at promoting better governance and socio-economic development and there was no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

"India was not raising any additional territorial claims. The Chinese concerns in this regard were therefore misplaced," he said.

Jaishankar told Wang that these changes had no bearing on Pakistan as it was an internal matter.