Pakistan faces ‘hurdles’ within the UN over Kashmir: Bilawal Bhutto admits

New Delhi: The former Foreign Minister of Pakistan and Chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, openly admitted facing continued ‘setbacks’ in his country’s efforts to raise the Kashmir issue at international forums, especially in the United Nations.

Bilawal Bhutto’s avowal comes amid India’s intense international outreach following Operation Sindoor that saw India target several terror camps in the neighbouring country.

Leading a parliamentary delegation to the United States, Bilawal Bhuto told a press conference on Tuesday at the UN headquarters in New York that ‘As far as the hurdles we face within the UN and in general, as far as the Kashmir cause is concerned, that still exists’.

Bilawal Bhutto’s delegation, aiming at presenting Islamabad’s narrative on regional tensions, is apparently modelled on India’s international outreach programme.

The Pakistan’s all-party delegation seeks to counterbalance India’s move, especially in ‘influential Western capitals,’ according to NDTV.

Arriving in New York on Monday, Bhutto’s delegation held meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, General Assembly President Philemon Yang, and Security Council President Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.

It is reported that the Pakistani delegation met with the permanent representatives to the UN including USA, China, Russia and France alongside meeting non-permanent member states.

The Pakistan delegation is expected to be in Washington DC on Wednesday just as Indian delegation led by senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor visiting the capital city as part of its final leg of travel.

Tharoor’s delegation, comprising Sarfaraz Ahmad, Ganti Harish Madhur, Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Tejasvi Surya, and former Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, arrived in Washington DC on Tuesday after visiting Belgium and four Latin American nations.