Thread by @Geeta_Mohan

#Breaking
Sources
Last day of filing request for a resolution on #Kashmir at the #UNHRC has ended.
Pakistan failed to garner minimum support of 16 nations for admission of the request. Adoption of resolution would've required min of 24 votes.
#Article370 #HRC42
@ForeignOfficePk

Pak FM @SMQureshiPTI before leaving for Geneva had promised a resolution on Kashmir

#UNHRC rules say, “Proposers of a country resolution to have the responsibility to secure the broadest possible support for their initiatives (preferably 15 members), before action is taken;”

Pakistan failed to garner the minimum support required following which adoption of the resolution would have required a minimum of simple majority in the council of members present and voting (in a 47-member full house it would have meant 24 if there are no abstentions).

Pakistan on September 10 had also submitted a “joint statement” on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir to the UNHRC claiming that the document had support of some 60 countries. But, it failed to make public the list of countries that supported it.

With 15 members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as full members of the UNHRC, Pakistan had some hope. But, even after managing a joint statement on the issue of Kashmir, Islamabad could not manage the votes.

In the 47-member UNHRC in Geneva, Pakistan had three options: a resolution, an urgent debate or a special session. Resolution is out of the question now.
Resolution, special session not possible... Spl session cannot take place while regular session is underway.

For a request for an urgent debate to be admitted, a minimum support from 24 nations (simple majority) is required. An urgent debate can be sought at any time during the session.

pre-requisite for it is that there should be “urgency”. Eight weeks have passed since #Article370

In fact, a source said that the reason for the reluctance in requesting for a debate, resolution or a special session on Kashmir is because “failure” during voting would be a bigger embarrassment.

Pakistan had faced a similar situation in March of 1994 when they had to withdraw their request even before it was put to vote since they knew they did not have the numbers and the resolution would have failed.

Back then, the Indian delegation was handpicked by then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao whose brilliant strategy to have opposition leader Atal Bihari #Vajpayee lead the delegation flanked by @salman7khurshid and #FarooqAbdullah paid rich dividends.
#Kashmir #Article370

After the win from that glorious fight in 1994 Vajpayee had said: "...Let us now use this reprieve to clean up our act in Kashmir or there will be a Geneva every few months."
#Kashmir #Article370
#HRC42 #UNHRC