Pakistan has asked the United Nations to restrain India from interfering in Pakistan and refrain from activities aimed at destabilising Pakistan, said a statement issued on Friday.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, delivered a dossier on India’s interference and terrorism in Pakistan, to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with a letter from Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs.
The dossier contains additional information and proof of Indian/RAW interference in Pakistan and involvement in terrorism — particularly in Balochistan, FATA and Karachi.
Ambassador Lodhi had earlier in October 2015 presented three dossiers to the then secretary general Ban Ki-moon, which were said to be containing proofs of Indian interference in Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Karachi. But, the move did not get much traction.
When the attention of the officials was invited to the “credibility deficit” that Pakistan internationally faces, they expressed the hope that the UN would look into the fresh evidence that would be placed before it.
Know more: Dossiers on India have no ‘material evidence’
In the covering letter sent with the dossier, Sartaj Aziz noted that the arrest of Indian RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadhav from Balochistan and his confessional statement admitting involvement in activities aimed at destabilising Pakistan, and support to terrorist elements vindicated Pakistan’s longstanding position about India’s involvement in such activities.
The dossier also contains evidence of attempted violation of maritime boundary by an Indian submarine.
India was carrying out these activities in clear contravention of the UN Charter and the resolutions of the UN Security Council on counter-terrorism and international conventions on terrorism, it read.
“India’s hostile intentions towards Pakistan were also borne out by recent statements of its political and military leadership.”
The adviser added that Pakistan had made a major contribution to global counter terrorism efforts and secured significant gains in its domestic fight against terrorism.
“This achievement had come at a great national cost including the lives lost of thousands of civilians and security forces personnel. India’s actions threatened to undermine these gains,” the UN chief was told.
Aziz urged the Secretary-General and relevant United Nations bodies to seriously consider the matter in the light of information shared by Pakistan and play a role in restraining India from these activities, which were in clear violation of international law and posed a threat to regional and international peace and security.
Pakistan continues to desire peace with all its neighbours including India, and is convinced that the common objectives of economic development and prosperity for our people can best be promoted through regional cooperation, conflict resolution and peaceful settlement of disputes, the letter read.
“At the same time, however, Pakistan will resolutely defend its territorial integrity and take all necessary measures to counter any threat to its security,” it concluded.
The government, which had pledged to internationally expose Indian hand in terrorism at home, domestically faced a lot of criticism for the delay in presenting to the international community evidence of Jadhav’s involvement in subversive activities.
Responding to criticism in the Senate, Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had on Dec 7 said that “insufficient material” had been delaying the finalisation of the dossier.
“It is not that material has been provided and it’s lacking in English and we are overcoming it. The (provided) material, in our view, was insufficient,” Mr Aziz told a meeting of the Senate Committee of the Whole House.
The submarine incident, which happened in November, coincided with the fourth Pak-China joint naval exercise for promoting maritime security and stability in the region and the start of shipping activity under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor from Gwadar.
