USNC President Poland favours dialogue between India, Pak over Kashmir

Poland, President of the UN Security Council for the month of August, has said that India and Pakistan can work out a "mutually beneficially solution bilaterally" to sort out their differences after New Delhi revoked the special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz was asked by reporters on Tuesday that Pakistan has sought a meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Kashmir and whether Poland supports such a request as the Council President.

Czaputowicz said he has had a "phone conversation" with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the last few days. "We expressed concerns over current tensions between India and Pakistan resulting from the proposed changed status of Jammu and Kashmir. Poland believes that the dispute can only be resolved by peaceful means and...We are in favor of a dialogue between Pakistan and India to sort out the differences," the top Polish diplomat said.

Czaputowicz stressed that as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, "Poland stands ready, if needed, to engage". "We hope that both countries can work out a mutually beneficially solution bilaterally," he said, adding that strained relations between India and Pakistan negatively affect the whole South Asia region and may lead to serious political, security and economic consequences.

Czaputowicz said he was "just informed" Tuesday morning that the Security Council received the letter from the Ambassador of Pakistan. "I think that the Security Council will discuss that issue and take the proper decision." When asked when will the Security Council meet to discuss the letter from Pakistan regarding Kashmir, Czaputowicz said, "I don't know. Simply, I got the information about the letter. We'll see."

Pakistan's envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi had earlier this month met President of UN Security Council for the month of August Polish Ambassador Joanna Wronecka over Kashmir. The Polish Ambassador, however, declined to comment on the issue.

In a video message, Qureshi said on Tuesday that Islamabad has formally called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss India's move to revoke the special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Qureshi said that he sent a formal letter to the president of the UNSC through Lodhi to convene the meeting.

"I have requested in the letter that a special meeting of the Security Council should be called to discuss those actions of India which we consider as illegal and against the UN resolutions," he said. India has categorically told the international community that its move to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution is an internal matter and has also advised Pakistan to "accept the reality".

Qureshi said that the decision to call for the UNSC meeting was taken in the meeting of high-profile National Security Committee meeting held last week. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stressed on the Simla Agreement of 1972, a bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan that rejects third-party mediation in Kashmir.