Islamabad, Aug 13: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has asked his countrymen not to live in a “fool’s paradise” as he highlighted that it will not be easy for Islamabad to get the support of the United Nation’s Security Council as well as from the Muslim world against India’s decision to abrogate Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing the media in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Monday, Mr. Qureshi asked Pakistanis to “wage a new struggle” to get the support of the UNSC members.
“You (people) should not in live fool’s paradise. Nobody will be standing there (in the UNSC) with garlands in hands...Nobody will be there waiting for you,” he said.
India has categorically told the international community that its move to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution removing the special status to Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter and has also advised Pakistan to “accept the reality.”
Without naming any Muslim country, Mr. Qureshi also said the “guardians of Ummah (Islamic community)” might also not back Pakistan on the Kashmir issue due to their economic interest.
“Different people in the world have their own interests. India is a market of [over] billion people...A lot of people have invested there [India]. We often talks about Ummah and Islam but the guardians of Ummah have also made investments there [India] and they have their own interests,” he said.
Mr. Qureshi’s statement came two days after Russia became the first UNSC member to back India’s move on Jammu and Kashmir.
The US has also maintained a neutral stand on the issue, saying that there is no change in its policy on Kashmir as it called on India and Pakistan to maintain restraint and hold direct dialogue to resolve their differences.
China, the all-weather ally of Pakistan, objected to the formation of Ladakh as Union Territory. However Beijing has told Mr. Qureshi that it regarded both India and Pakistan as “friendly neighbours” and wants them to resolve the Kashmir issue through UN resolutions and the Simla agreement.
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