US, France block China's attempt to rake up Kashmir issue in UNSC: Report

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China's attempt to get the Kashmir issue on the agenda for consultation in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was thwarted by other members of the body led by the United States and France, The Indian Express has reported.

In August, China had managed to hold informal closed-door consulations on the issue, days after the Indian government abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

Sources told the newspaper that this time around, China had sent a note to the UNSC to "echo" Pakistan's request for a briefing on Kashmir. Pakistan had, on December 12, written to UNSC and expressed concern that the situation might escalate.

According to the report, United States, which holds UNSC's presidency for December, did not yield to China's request. French diplomatic sources told the newspaper that the issue needs to be discussed bilaterally.

"We have highlighted this several times recently, including in New York," French diplomatic sources said. Sources also said China has withdrawn its request and no discussion will be held. The UNSC will now be meeting to discuss the issue of Sudan and South Sudan, as per the original schedule, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on December 17 said "millions" of refugees could flee India due to the issue of Kashmir and the Citizenship Amendment Act. Khan was speaking at the Global Forum on Refugees in Geneva.

Responding to Khan's statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Khan has once again "peddled familiar falsehoods".

"Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again peddled familiar falsehoods at a multilateral platform to advance his narrow political agenda by making gratuitous and unwarranted remarks on matters entirely internal to India. It should now be clear to the entire world that this is an established pattern of his habitual and compulsive abuse of global forums," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.