Pakistan fails to prove claim of 58 nations’ support on Jammu & Kashmir

NEW DELHI: Pakistan has failed to prove its September 10 claim in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session that it has support of 58 countries on the Kashmir issue. According to rules, Pakistan had to submit the signed list of 58 countries by a certain period in support of its claim.

ET has reliably learnt that Pakistan had failed to submit this list of as per deadline in the earlier part of this week. On September 10, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi claimed in Geneva that it had the support of 58 countries on the Kashmir issue. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan seconded the view.

Sources, who did not wish to be quoted, told ET that the Pakistan bluff had been exposed and the claim was nothing but a farce. Experts on UN matters expressed scepticism over the opaque process, which allowed Pakistan to claim support of 58 countries in the early part of the September 9-27 session of the Council in Geneva.


ET had first reported Pakistan’s effort for a resolution on Kashmir in the 47-member UNHRC did not fly as it failed to garner minimum support of 16 nations for admission of the request on Thursday, the last day for brining such an initiative during the ongoing session.

On September 10, Pakistan’s three attempts — statement by its foreign minister, an appeal to OIC and an appeal on behalf of 58 countries — did not yield any results. India had reached out to each o f the 45 other members of the Council explaining the rationale behind abrogation of Article 370 .