China showed its half-hearted support to Pakistan at UN: NK Sood, Former RAW Officer

Former RAW officer NK Sood has lauded Syed Akbaruddin, the Indian envoy to UN, calling his interaction with Pakistani journalists “a display of brilliance” and that the Chinese representative avoiding any questions was a proof of "China's half-hearted support to Pakistan".

Sood, who worked in Iran and UK said India is “conducting diplomacy in a fresh manner” and one can not simply “mess with the country and get away” as the Ministry of External Affairs has worked hard to strike a chord with almost all global powers. The statement followed a closed-door consultation at the UN Security Council in New York where only China made an official statement regarding the meeting, leaving Pakistan isolated on the Kashmir issue.

“The Chinese showed their half-hearted support to Pakistan which is evident from the fact that they did not take any questions” and the statement read out by their envoy had “nothing new”, said Sood.

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An informal UNSC consultation was called after Pakistan wrote three letters to the United Nations asking to intervene after article 370 was revoked by the Indian government on August 5, which was approved by the Parliament. 

Recently the foreign minister of Pakistan, Mehmood Qureshi spoke to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov asking for his support which was turned down. Russia believes that “the decision by the government of India is in consonance with their constitution”, hence it would not interfere although it appeals for “peace and stability in the region”.

“You heard what the Russian ambassador said. He spoke for a minute before the meeting but said nothing after they met. Its tells you that Russia is standing with India,” added Sood.

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Post-closed-door consultations, the Pakistani diplomat Maleeha Lodhi appeared in front of the press but only to read out a statement. She did not take questions from journalists - not even Pakistani journalists. Having read the statement, the diplomat who was heckled recently stormed out, leaving journalists amused who were expecting a response.

While there was no official announcement - as there is no mandatory provision for official announcements regarding consultations – Pakistan claimed that it “brought the issue to the attention of the international community”.

“This is laughable. Does the world not know Kashmir? What is there to bring attention to?” added Sood.

It may be recalled that out of 15 members of the UN only China, issued a statement after the consultation meeting while all other members opted to stay away from making any comments on the development.