United Nations: Pakistan Wednesday while raising the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council, linked it to the Palestinian crisis and asserted that the world continues to watch these “egregious” situations without addressing them.

Participating in an open debate at the UNSC, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi yesterday said challenges to international peace and security are intensifying at a time when the foundations of global order are fraying.

“The Palestinian and Kashmiri people continue to suffer horrific human rights violations at the hands of occupying forces while the world continues to watch without addressing these egregious situations, she said during the debate on ‘Addressing complex contemporary challenges to international peace and security’.

The envoy said conflicts continued to rage across the world, from Africa to Afghanistan.

Civil wars and factional fighting in Syria, Libya and Yemen are becoming more vicious and consequential, generating record levels of human displacement, she said.

“Efforts to change the status of Jerusalem threaten to drive an already volatile Middle East into further turbulence and chaos, Lodhi said, referring to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

“And as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned, in the Korean peninsula, we may be sleep-walking into a catastrophe. At the same time longstanding, internationally recognised disputes of Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir continue to fester, the Pakistani diplomat said.

All this is compounding the challenges of a more turbulent and volatile world, she asserted.

Pakistan frequently raises the Kashmir issue at various UN forums. However, for the second consecutive year not a single other nation has come out in its support.

Guest