Diplomatic sources at the UN Friday brushed aside as “outlandish” India’s call for the removal of the Kashmir dispute from the Security Council agenda under the agenda item of “India-Pakistan Question”, saying a member state cannot change the agenda unilaterally. The agenda is set in accordance with the established rules and procedures and can be changed only by a consensus decision of the 15-member Council, it was pointed out. The Indian Representative, speaking in a virtual informal meeting to discuss the 2019 annual report of the Security Council,  made the demand yesterday, saying  that certain “outdated” agenda items needed to be permanently removed from the Council’s Agenda. India has long sought to remove the “India-Pakistan Question” from the agenda of the Security Council, but has failed consistently. The sources said that an agenda item can only be closed if a dispute is “settled” or there is a consensus decision of the Security Council to remove it from its agenda. This is obviously not true in the case of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. “It is a pity that a country which is so eager to join the Council is not even aware of the basic rules of procedure governing its … Continue reading India’s demand for removal of Kashmir dispute from UNSC agenda ‘outlandish’