Foreign minister’s letter to UN secretary general on India’s act of aggression circulated in UNSC

Dawn.comUpdated February 27, 2019 Facebook Count

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Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's letter to the United Nations Secretary General
António Guterres — about India’s act of aggression against Pakistan — was circulated as a
document in the UN Security Council at Pakistan's request.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi shared this information on

Wednesday via Twitter.

Early on Tuesday, Indian aircraft had violated the Line of Control (LoC), intruding from the
Muzaffarabad sector, following which "Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled" and Indian
aircraft went back.

Qureshi, in a letter to Guterres, had informed him of the violation and said that the aggressive
act by India will have "severe repercussions for the regional peace and security", RadioPakistan
reported. The foreign minister also maintained that Pakistan reserves the right to respond in self-
defence.

He briefed the diplomatic corps about the Indian breach and refuted New Delhi's claims of
having targeted a terrorist camp and killing hundreds of people, calling them "absurd".

"It is completely absurd and is based on a false narrative designed to placate domestic
audience," he said.

New Delhi, Qureshi said in his letter, had been issuing threatening statements since the Pulwama
attack — in which more than 40 Indian paramilitaries were killed — in order to "divert" the
international community's attention from the human rights violations committed by the Indian
forces in occupied Kashmir.
UN secretary general calls foreign minister

Guterres called the foreign minister and discussed the regional security situation and assured
Pakistan of UN's support, a press statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on
Wednesday. During the phone conversation, that followed the LoC breach, the foreign minister
said that he had expressed Pakistan's apprehensions that India might attempt to ruin regional
peace for the sake of political gains.

He also referred to the two letters he had written earlier to Guterres as well as the UNSC about
the regional situation following the Pulwama attack. Qureshi pointed out that Indian act of
aggression is a violation of international laws and UN charter.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Lodhi also held a series of intense meetings with key diplomats and UN
officials following the breach, said Radio Pakistan.

“We will not sit back,” she told BBC radio when asked whether Pakistan will respond to India’s
attack.