Pakistan intends to brief UN Security Council on recent standoff with India
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, has tasked the country's envoy to the United Nations (UN) to take measures to summon a Security Council meeting for a briefing on heightened tensions with India since an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Sunday.
Tensions have soared between Pakistan and India to the highest point in recent years after New Delhi blamed the attack, which killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, on Islamabad. Pakistan has denied the allegation and called for a credible international investigation.
The nuclear-armed rivals have since expelled each other's diplomats and citizens, ordered the border shut and closed their airspace to each other. New Delhi has also suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad, amid reports of skirmishes along their de facto border in Kashmir.
The Pakistani foreign ministry said Islamabad has decided to formally brief the UNSC on the current situation in South Asia and Dar has instructed Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, to arrange for it.
'Pakistan will inform the UN Security Council about India's aggressive actions, provocations and inflammatory statements,' the foreign ministry said. 'Pakistan will clarify how India's aggressive actions are jeopardizing peace and security in South Asia and beyond the region.'
Islamabad will specifically highlight at the UNSC meeting India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farmland, according to its foreign ministry.
India suspended the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty a day after the Pahalgam attack, saying the suspension would last until 'Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.' Pakistan has described the suspension of treat as an 'act of war.'
Public anger has swelled in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers 'to the ends of the earth.' A Pakistani minister has said that Islamabad has 'credible intelligence' that India is planning to attack Pakistan within days.
Pakistani and Indian troops have exchanged fire along their de facto border in Kashmir. The disputed region is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. The two countries have fought two wars and one limited conflict over the Himalayan territory.
Top Pakistani leaders have reached out to foreign capitals and senior officials in China, United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and other countries, amid fears that India's possible actions over the April 22 attack may lead to a wider conflict in the region.
'This important diplomatic move is part of Pakistan's efforts to present accurate facts to the international community,' the foreign ministry added.
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