Getting Kashmir at the centre of UN agenda an 'uphill' task: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto admits

According to Bhutto, his country has been unsuccessful in garnering support or attention for its agenda from the broader UN membership.

Pakistan faces an ‘uphill task’ to push Kashmir into the 'centre' of the agenda of the United Nations, he said, and found himself searching for an appropriate term to refer to India, as he ended up describing India as “our friend” and then switched to “our neighbour.”

“And whenever the issue of Kashmir is brought up, our friends within, with.. our friends our…. our neighbouring countries, strongly object, vociferously object and they perpetuate a post-fact narrative where they try to claim that this is not a dispute for the United Nations, that this is not a disputed territory recognised for the international community,” Pakistan's foreign minister said.

“I think your parallel is very justified. There are many similarities between the plight of the people of Kashmir and the plight of the people of Palestine. I think it's fair to say that both issues remain unaddressed by the United Nations and we'd like to see an extra focus not only on Palestine but also on Kashmir,” he added.

The already tense relationship between India and Pakistan deteriorated further when India abolished Article 370 of its Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5, 2019.

Pakistan reacted strongly by reducing diplomatic relations and expelling the Indian ambassador. India accuses Pakistan of fuelling unrest in Kashmir by supporting terrorists, a claim that Pakistan denies.