ISLAMABAD: A high-level delegation set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in New York today, Monday, as the first stop in a diplomatic mission to present Pakistan’s position in world capitals following a recent military conflict with India.
Tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India are high after they struck a ceasefire on May 10 following the most intense military confrontation in decades. Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other’s soil — a charge both capitals deny.
The latest military escalation, in which the two countries traded missile, drones and artillery fire, was sparked after India accused Pakistan of supporting militants who attacked dozens of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, killing 26. Islamabad denies involvement.
Sharif announced the nine-member diplomatic group last month, headed by Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is a former foreign minister. A group headed by Bhutto Zardari will visit New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels from June 2. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, will also visit Moscow.
“The visits of these delegations are aimed at projecting Pakistan’s perspective on the recent Indian aggression,” the foreign office said in a statement.
“The delegations will highlight Pakistan’s responsible and restrained conduct – seeking peace with responsibility – in the face of India’s reckless and belligerent actions in violation of international law. They will also highlight that dialogue and diplomacy should take precedence over conflict and confrontation.”
The foreign office said the two delegations will “underscore the imperative for the international community to play its due role in promoting a lasting peace in South Asia.”
“The need for immediate resumption of the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty will also be a key theme of the delegations’ outreach,” the statement said, referring to a 1960 river-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan that the former unilaterally suspended following the April 22 militant assault.
The accord has not been revived despite the rivals agreeing on a ceasefire last week following the conflict.
Islamabad said after India suspended the treaty that it considered any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan to be an “act of war.”
About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million.
State broadcaster Radio Pakistan said the Bhutto Zardari-led delegation would hold meetings with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, President of the UN General Assembly Philémon Yang as well as ambassadors of permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security-Council.
The delegation will also brief OIC members at the United Nations.
