By The South Asia Times

NEW YORK - Pakistan has urged the UN Security Council to implements its resolutions on Kashmir for permanent peace in South Asia.

Speaking to reporters after an emergency session of the Council on Pakistan and India ongoing tension, Pakistan Permanent Representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said lasting peace in South Asia requires that the Security Council implements its own resolutions, including the holding of a UN-supervised plebiscite to let Kashmiris determine their own future.

The following is his press conference trascipt issued by Pakistan mission at the UN

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for your patience and interest.

2.The Security Council has concluded the consultations of the whole on agenda item ‘India-Pakistan Question’ – which as you know is the historic item on the Council’s agenda for over 7 decades on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. That this issue remains unresolved after more than seventy years is a stark reminder — conflicts may be ignored but they do not disappear. They deepen. Today, the stakes are higher than ever, with escalating rhetoric, military posturing, and provocative actions threatening not just Pakistan, but regional and global peace.

3.From (Pakistan’s perspective) these were 3 key objectives from this meeting:

i. To enable the Council members to have a discussion on the deteriorating security environment and rising tension between India and Pakistan resulting from India’s unilateral actions and aggressive posturing targeting Pakistan, that currently pose a serious threat to regional and international peace and security;

ii. To have an exchange of view on how (best) to address this situation, including avoiding a confrontation, that could have serious consequences, and the need for de-escalation;

iii. To recall and bring to the fore, the fact that all of this was happening in the larger context, the backdrop of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the core issue between India and Pakistan, whose final, just and lasting settlement is still awaited in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the wishes of the Kashmiri people, who are waging just struggle against occupation to realize their inalienable right to self-determination.

4.Pakistan believes all these objectives were largely served and achieved by this meeting.

5.We thank Council members for their engagement and their calls for restraint, de-escalation, and dialogue. Several members recognized the imperative of peacefully resolving Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with UN resolutions, the UN Charter, and wishes of the Kashmiri people. There was also a clear sense that regional stability cannot be sustained through unilateralism — it requires principled diplomacy and adherence to international law.

6.Pakistan came to the Council with a message of peace, not provocation. But peace does not happen in a vacuum. It demands responsibility, restraint, and respect for the rules that govern our world. Let me highlight the key points we raised:

First, we expressed grave concern over India’s recent unilateral measures — particularly the illegal actions of 23 April, military build-up, and inflammatory public statements. These actions, alongside credible intelligence of potential escalation, have dangerously raised tensions. While Pakistan does not seek confrontation, we are fully prepared to defend our sovereignty in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter. When peace is threatened in a region home to one-fourth of humanity, it becomes a global issue.

Second, we categorically rejected India’s attempt to implicate Pakistan in the Pahalgam terrorist attack of 22 April which has been condemned by Pakistan and all members of the Council. What India is claiming is nothing but recycled allegations — unsubstantiated, unverified, designed to serve its political interests and strategic objectives which include its efforts to divert attention from its repression and human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, and to undermine and delegitimize the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination.

Third, we raised alarm over India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a legally binding accord brokered by the World Bank and upheld even during wars. Water is life, not a weapon. These rivers sustain over 240 million Pakistanis. Any attempt to disrupt their flow constitutes aggression. Allowing such a precedent would endanger every lower riparian state.

Fourth, The Council was reminded that the core of regional instability is the unresolved Jammu and Kashmir dispute. The Kashmiri people continue to face gross human rights violations — extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, demolition of homes, restrictions on expression and media, and a systematic denial of their right to self-determination. Lasting peace in South Asia requires that the Council implement its own resolutions, including the holding of a UN-supervised plebiscite to let Kashmiris determine their own future.

Fifth, we called out India’s weaponization of disinformation — efforts to malign Pakistan and fabricate narratives. We reminded the Council that Pakistan has been a frontline state in the fight against terrorism, sacrificing over 90,000 lives along with immense economic setback. India’s attempts to distort this reality — while ignoring its own destabilizing actions and involvement in terrorism abroad, including the case of Kulbhushan Yadav and extra territorial assassinations — must be met with truth, transparency and accountability.

Sixth, we reiterated our commitment to peaceful, cooperative relations with all our neighbors, including India. We remain open to dialogue based on mutual respect and sovereign equality. We have also called for an independent, transparent, neutral and credible investigation into the Pahalgam incident. While we pursue peace, we will defend our interests and safeguard our sovereignty resolutely, at all costs.

Finally, we urged the Security Council and the Secretary-General to remain actively engaged in peacemaking and preventive diplomacy. The role of the Council is not just to observe conflict from afar but to prevent it through timely and principled action.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

7.Peace must be built — through dialogue, engagement, and respect for international law. India’s current posture reflects none of these.

8.The burden of peace must be shared. The people of Kashmir have waited too long for justice. And the people of Pakistan will not stand by while their rights — to water, to peace, to sovereignty — are threatened.

9.In view of the gravity of the situation, the calls of dialogue and de-escalation and peaceful resolution of disputes as we also heard from the Council members today are most pertinent, and the way forward for lasting peace and stability in the region.