As its month-long presidency of the UN Security Council comes to an end, Pakistan is set to hold an open debate on global disputes, with hopes of drawing attention to the Kashmir issue, though without naming it directly.

As Pakistan’s month-long presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) draws to a close, the country is making a final diplomatic push to spotlight the Kashmir issue through indirect means.

Islamabad has scheduled an open debate on unresolved global disputes, a move widely interpreted as an attempt to internationalise the Kashmir dispute without explicitly naming it, in order to avoid procedural hurdles and potential vetoes from permanent UNSC members.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, is set to chair the debate on July 22, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres expected to brief the meeting. The draft resolution Pakistan plans to introduce will urge member states to fully utilise mechanisms under Chapter VI of the UN Charter—specifically Article 33, which encourages mediation, arbitration, and other peaceful means for dispute resolution.

However, the resolution is expected to remain broad and conceptual, steering clear of direct references to Jammu and Kashmir. This approach is designed to avoid objections and a likely veto, given that, apart from China, the other permanent members of the UNSC consider Kashmir a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, as emphasised by India in the Simla and Lahore Declarations.

This latest initiative follows a closed-door UNSC session called by Pakistan on May 5, after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which Pakistan used as another opportunity to raise India-Pakistan tensions at the Council.

Additionally, Pakistan is organising a separate event to promote cooperation between the UN and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a 57-member bloc that frequently echoes Pakistan’s narrative on Kashmir. Messaging supportive of Pakistan’s position on Kashmir is expected during the OIC event, though any mention of the issue is likely to elicit a strong response from India.

Despite these efforts, Pakistan faces significant diplomatic obstacles. Any UNSC resolution requires at least nine affirmative votes and no veto from any of the five permanent members.

The prevailing global consensus, except for China, is that Kashmir remains a bilateral matter, and most member states stress that the UNSC’s peace and security efforts must respect national sovereignty and cannot impose solutions without the consent of all involved parties. India has consistently accused Pakistan of using international forums and the OIC to push its narrative while ignoring concerns about cross-border terrorism.

As its UNSC presidency ends, Pakistan is leveraging its position to keep the Kashmir issue alive on the international stage through indirect diplomatic manoeuvres, but is unlikely to achieve any substantive change in the Council’s approach due to the entrenched positions of key member states and the bilateral nature of the dispute.

Based On FirstPost Report