Islamabad - Pakistan is to kick off a ‘diplomatic offensive’ to neutralise India in the United Nations by showing its real face to the world about New Delhi’s efforts to destabilise Pakistan by sponsoring terrorism and its dismal record on human rights violations.
Well-placed sources, who shared outline of the plan with The Nation on Tuesday, said Islamabad has almost finalised things on this count. Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Dr Maleeha Lodhi, who is presently in Islamabad, is reportedly part of the consultative process to counter India’s efforts against Pakistan in the UN and its powerful organ, the Security Council.
However, some sources in the Foreign Office ruled out any immediate diplomatic onslaught on India and maintained that Dr Maleeha Lodhi was in Islamabad for consultations on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s planned visit to the UN to address the General Assembly in September, when he would also attend a series of summits.
However, they are of the view that the upcoming annual UNGA would be more significant occasion this time because Islamabad wants to capitalise on it by raising the issue of Indian interference in Pakistan’s affairs at the world forum.
Since the UNGA session will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the world body and the member states will take major decisions about sustainable development, climate change and peace, Pakistan believes it would be appropriate to kick off its diplomatic offensive against India then.
But the sources claiming a blueprint for the plan has already been prepared, said the plan would also be replicated at all the important capitals of the world to expose Indian designs against Pakistan. Some sources believed that the move comes after India recently tried to politicise the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee that oversees the implementation of the 1267 sanctions regime by making unfounded allegations about Pakistan’s non-compliance with the UN sanctions.
Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullh in his last weekly media briefing described the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs of India as well as the media reports on the matter as most unfortunate and misleading, and an attempt to politicise a purely technical issue at the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee.
He said a recent complaint by India was discussed in one of the regular meetings of the Sanctions Committee on purely technical grounds and the committee decided not to take any action on it. The spokesperson rejected New Delhi’s insinuations and politically motivated moves and attempts to question its commitment to the UNSC decisions. In fact, Pakistan supports and respects decisions of the Security Council, he added.
The prime objective of the 1267 sanctions regime is to address the threat posed by al-Qaida. Pakistan is fully complying with its international obligations with regard to implementation of these sanctions. India, on the other hand, the spokesperson maintained is in violation of various resolutions of the Security Council, particularly on Jammu and Kashmir dispute.