New Delhi, January 16: The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday reacted to China's bid to discuss Kashmir issue at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The Foreign Ministry, in its statement, said Beijing should refrain from acting on the Kashmir row on behalf of Pakistan. The western neighbour, said the MEA, is attempting to mislead China and the international community be levelling baseless allegations against India.

At the UNSC headquarters in New York on Wednesday, China called for a "closed-door discussion" on the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir and the communication blockade imposed in the region. The discussions were not held after the other four permanent members of the Council, along with the 10 non-permanent members, refuse to take up the matter. China Faces Pushback From Other Permanent Members of UNSC For Bringing up Kashmir Issue.

"Attempt was made by Pakistan, through a UNSC member, to misuse the platform. Overwhelming majority of UNSC was of view that UNSC was not the right forum for such issues and it should be discussed bilaterally," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

"In our view, China should seriously reflect on this global consensus, draw the proper lessons and refrain from taking such action in the future," Kumar said, , adding that the diplomatic move of Islamabad through its all-weather ally Beijing was "shameful".

Since the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir in August last year, China has raised the issue at the UNSC on multiple occasions. However, India has diplomatically outperformed Pakistan as France and the United States - two permanent members of the top UN body - have backed New Delhi's position that the Kashmir issue is "bilateral" and does not warrant a multilateral solution.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 16, 2020 04:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).