Imran Khan will ‘forcefully’ raise Kashmir issue at UN General Assembly, says Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi

Islamabad: Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan will “forcefully” raise the Kashmir issue before the international community during his address to the UN General Assembly next month in New York, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_6139561” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Reuters[/caption] Talking to reporters in Islamabad, Qureshi said Imran Khan will also hold bilateral meetings and attend other events in New York on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution that gave the special status to Jammu and Kashmir was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality. “Prime Minister Imran Khan will forcefully present sentiments of Kashmiris during his address to the UN General Assembly next month”, Qureshi said. In his address to the nation on Monday, Khan said he will raise the Kashmir issue at every international forum, including at the UN General Assembly. Qureshi claimed India violated the Simla agreement and the “unilateral” steps in Kashmir were in total breach of the UN Security Council resolutions. “Under the Simla agreement, both Pakistan and India are bound to bilaterally resolve Kashmir dispute. Modi should tell the international community whether his 5th August’s measures are bilateral or unilateral”, he said. Responding to a question, he said that so far no decision was taken about closure of airspace for India. However, the country’s civil aviation authority said on Wednesday that Pakistan has closed three aviation routes of Karachi airspace from 28 to 31 August. The ban will affect all international flights using the three routes above Karachi. It further provides pilots with an alternate route to circumnavigate Karachi airspace.