In January 1957, the Indian Permanent Representative to the UN, V. K. Krishna Menon, spoke
for 8 hours, when addressing the Security Council on the situation in Kashmir. That
speech remains the longest ever delivered at the UN. It was cut short, if I can
say so, because Menon collapsed of exhaustion.
Compared
to such feat, yesterday´s 50-minute speech by Pakistan’s Prime Minister was a
brief episode. But a striking one, not because of its length – at the UN, it is considered
a long speech that goes beyond 35 minutes; this year’s trend
has been to have shorter interventions – but because of the words he said. He basically
focused on the dispute with India regarding Kashmir. And he talked about the
possibility of war between the two countries and made a direct reference to the
use of nuclear weapons. Imran Khan stated that Pakistan would go for a nuclear
response if there is war and his country is losing it against India.
Such
assertion is most upsetting. There is indeed a serious state of cold
confrontation between Pakistan and India. The Kashmir situation and Modi’s
decision to cancel the autonomy of the region have brought the complexity of conflict to the
fore. We have there an extremely dangerous threat to international peace and
security. Khan’s words have confirmed it.
Pakistan
is getting closer and closer to China. Its dramatic economic situation makes Pakistan very dependent on China’s investments and economic cooperation. China, on
the other hand, sees India as a growing competitor. But I can’t believe the
Chinese would encourage Pakistan to go for an armed conflict with India. They
cannot imagine that such clash would reduce India’s capacity to compete.
In my
opinion, the Chinese should be encouraged to mediate in between both countries.
That would have an impact on the easing of the tensions and would strengthen the
international standing of China. With the accord of the two antagonistic nations,
the Chinese could also bring the matter to the Security Council, to get a
greater buy-in for a peaceful way forward.
It
is not easy, though. The Indian Prime Minister sees the Kashmir crisis as an
internal challenge, a domestic affair. He does not welcome any type of international assistance on the issue.
That was fine until yesterday, I would retort. With Imran Khan’s dramatic
speech at the UN, the issue cannot be anything else but an international matter
of great concern. It must be dealt as such and with great urgency.
