ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Friday sought help from the permanent five (P5) members of the United Nations Security Council to resolve the decades-old Kashmir issue, the foreign ministry said.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi called upon the permanent members of the UN Security Council - China, France, Russian, the UK and the US - to fulfil their commitment to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, by holding a free, fair and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices.

He briefed ambassadors of P5 countries here on the deteriorating human rights situation in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the foreign ministry said.

Pak-India tensions have heightened since an Indian crackdown on dissent in Kashmir following the killing of a young freedom fighter Burhan Wani by the Indian forces in July.

They further deteriorated when New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the Uri attack, which inflicted the heaviest toll on the Indian army in a single incident in 14 years. India, which has already launched a diplomatic drive to isolate Pakistan, later announced to boycott a regional summit hosted by Pakistan in November.

Also, the Indian military claimed it had conducted ‘surgical strikes’ inside Azad Jammu Kashmir. Pakistan rejected the claims as an “illusion”.

Fatemi also briefed the ambassadors about escalation and ceasefire violations from the Indian side on the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, and the Indian involvement in subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan.

He noted that the people of held Kashmir were being brutalised for demanding their fundamental rights including the right to self-determination. The PM’s adviser condemned the Indian brutalities in Kashmir, resulting in the killing of more than 115 innocent people and injuring more than 16,000.

He noted that more than 1,000 people had been injured due to the use of pellet guns by the Indian forces, while scores of people had become partially or permanently blind. “Fatemi characterised the systematic and grave human rights violations as crimes against humanity,” said the foreign ministry.

He said that unprovoked continued firing and ceasefire violations from the Indian side on the LoC and the Working Boundary had resulted in the loss of many innocent lives.  He referred to the Indian attempts to escalate tensions as an effort to divert international attention from the grim situation in Kashmir.

Fatemi also deplored Indian involvement in subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan.

While highlighting Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war against terrorism, he reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to eradicating the menace of terrorism including Indian state-sponsored terrorism.

Meanwhile, Frenc Ambassador Martine Dorance on Friday welcomed Pakistan’s ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

“It is an extremely positive sign as it reflects Pakistan’s commitment to the fight against climate change, one year after the Paris COP21 and just a few days before the next international conference, the COP22, starts in Marrakesh,” she said in a statement issued here.

“I also here welcome the announcements of the Federal Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid on the adoption of a new national contribution as well as of a new Pakistan’s climate change bill,” she said. “France will stay committed as it is now time to implement the agreement. Marrakesh will be the first follow-up conference to the Paris Agreement and will be devoted to climate action,” she said.

The Paris Agreement on Climate Change will enter into force on Saturday, a few days ahead of the start of COP22 in Marrakesh, less than a year after its adoption in Paris.

The swiftness of this process is unprecedented. No other multilateral treaty of such importance has ever been ratified by so many countries in such a short period of time. The agreement has now been ratified by more than 80 states accounting jointly for more than 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions.