United Nations: India has said Pakistan approaching the UN over the issue of surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has not found any resonance in the world body. It rejected claims that the UN mission monitoring ceasefire “has not directly observed” any firing along the Line of Control (LoC).
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin dismissed remarks made by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric that the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) “has not directly observed any firing across the LoC related to the latest incidents,” a reference to the surgical strikes conducted by India on September 29 targeting terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Akbaruddin told reporters at the Indian Permanent Mission on Friday that the facts on the ground do not change whether somebody has “observed” it or not.
“I have nothing to say because what (Dujarric) said was ‘directly observed’. It’s a call that they have to take. I cannot place myself in their boots and directly observe something,” the Indian envoy said when asked to comment on Dujarric’s remarks.
Akbaruddin said the “facts on the ground do not change whether somebody acknowledges or not. Facts are facts, we presented the facts and that’s where we stand.”
India on Thursday carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC with the Army inflicting “significant casualties” on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.
When pressed atthe daily press briefingto explain how UNMOGIP can say it did not observe any firing even as India said it has conducted the surgical strikes, Dujarric repeatedthat UNMOGIP has not “directly observed” any of the firing.
“They are obviously aware of the reports of these presumedviolations and are talking to the relevant concerned authorities,” he had said.
Akbaruddin said while Pakistan has reached out to the UN Chief and the 15-nation Council over the issues of the surgical strike and Kashmir, it’s call for intervention by the world body has not found any resonance as there was no further discussion on the matter.
“Yesterday there was some action. You are also aware of the reaction,” Akbaruddin said referring to Pakistan’s envoy Maleeha Lodhi meeting New Zealand’s UN Ambassador Gerard van Bohemen, president of the Council for the month of September, andraising in the UNSC the issue of the action by India.
“Yesterday the Pakistan ambassador did approach New Zealand. What they didn’t tell you after that was what happened. Did anyone raise anything after what was explained to in the UN Security Council. The answer that I know of is that there was no further discussion of this (surgical strike and Kashmir matter),” Akbaruddin said.
PTI