UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, who assumed the UN Security Council’s presidency for the month of July on Tuesday, has underscored the need for resolving the Kashmir dispute, which he said was causing tensions and frictions between India and Pakistan.
“It is time that the Kashmir dispute be addressed, and I would say this is not only a responsibility of Pakistan — we are here temporarily, two years as a non-permanent member, ” he told a crowded press conference at UN Headquarters in New York, while responding to a question.
“I think it’s the responsibility of the Security Council itself, and particularly the permanent members to see that they take certain steps to actually get their own resolutions implemented,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar said. “That’s the way forward,” he added.
Ahead of the press conference, the 15-member Council met and approved the programme of work for the month of July. “Our approach is firmly rooted in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, peaceful settlement of disputes, sovereign equality, respect for international law and multilateralism,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar told UN corps of correspondents.
Pakistan, he said, will convene two signature events during its Presidency –a high-level debate on “Promoting International Peace and Security through Multilateralism and Peaceful Settlement of Disputes,” scheduled for July 22, and on UN-OIC cooperation on July 24. Both debates will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Ishaq Dar.
Moreover, DPM/FM Dar would also preside over the quarterly open debate on Palestine on July 23. “The debates stem from the reality that today’s crises often emerge from unresolved disputes, the erosion of international obligations, and the underutilization of peaceful means enshrined in Chapter VI of the Charter,” the Pakistani envoy said.
“We aim to: Reflect on the effectiveness of dispute settlement mechanisms; Discuss obstacles to implementation of Council decisions; Explore ways to enhance diplomacy, mediation and technical support; and Reinforce the commitments made in the Pact for the Future to preventive diplomacy and peaceful dispute resolution.”
On Kashmir, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar also said that all issues on the Security Council’s agenda can be discussed any time and the decades-old dispute over the Himalayan state was on agenda under India-Pakistan question.
The UN Security Council has pronounced on it in several resolutions that, among other elements, grant the Kashmiri people their right to self-determination, he said. “It is festering dispute, It has several dimensions,” the Pakistan envoy said, noting its peace and security dimension, political and legal dimension, and it also human rights dimension.
“This is an issue that has been there unresolved; It is a cause of tensions and frictions between India and Pakistan. It is impeding development of friendly relations in our region. It is time that this be addressed,” he added. The Council, he said, will remain focused on key global issues, including the situation in the Middle East and developments in Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
The presidency of the Security Council — the world body’s power centre — is part of Pakistan’s two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UNSC, which began in January 2025. The presidency rotates monthly among its 15 members, in alphabetical order.
Pakistan’s earlier terms on the Council were in 2012-13, 2003-04, 1993-94, 1983-84, 1976- 77, 1968-69 and 1952-53.
Pakistan was elected as a non-permanent member with overwhelming support of the UN membership, securing 182 votes out of 193.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has called on the UN Security Council not to remain “a bystander” amid the deepening humanitarian crisis in war-shattered Gaza, with Israeli military operations and attacks on civilians seeking aid continuing to exact a devastating toll on lives and infrastructure.
“The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza defies comprehension,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member Council, during a briefing on the situation in the Middle East.
The briefing was convened pursuant to Council resolution 2334 (2016), which requests the Secretary-General to report every three months on its implementation. The resolution demands that Israel cease all settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
However, discussions extended beyond its scope, covering the risk of famine in Gaza and aid delivery conducted by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a non-UN mechanism established with support from Israel and the United States. In sharp-worded remarks, the Pakistani envoy described the “new aid distribution mechanism” as not only contrary to international humanitarian law and human dignity, it also places starving civilians in direct danger, forcing them to cross active combat zones in search of food and water.
“The result is a grotesque cycle of horror: over 500 people have been killed while trying to access humanitarian aid,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar said, adding, “This is a death trap. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with militarized, dangerous and unlawful schemes,” he said, pointing out that the UN already has a proven humanitarian delivery system, grounded in humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.
Pakistan also called for addressing the root causes of terrorism as a crucial step in effectively combating the menace at a meeting held to consider the reconfiguration of the UN’s counterterrorism architecture. “The UN’s counterterrorism discourse must not only address the response factors but also the underlying and preventive factors,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said during Ambassadorial-Level Consultations on UN80 and the future of the UN counterterrorism architecture.
The Pakistani envoy said that the underlying and preventive factors include resolution of prolonged unresolved conflicts, ending foreign intervention and occupation, addressing injustice, oppression and violations of international law under the pretext of counterterrorism. “We must also clearly distinguish between terrorism and the legitimate struggle against foreign occupation and the right to self-determination,” he said.
Underscoring that the UNOCT (Counterterrorism Office) must also integrate respect for human rights and rule of law to prevent abuse of counterterrorism actions by member states, the Pakistani envoy said, “The more we shy away from addressing these issues, the more prolonged our counterterrorism efforts will be,” he added.