PM Modi, Imran Khan To Speak At UNGA Today As India-Pakistan Showdown Takes Centrestage

The relationship between India and Pakistan is set to take centrestage in New York as the leaders of the two rival countries  will address the same platform, one after the other. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the 74th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday. The session will see an interesting clash as Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will also speak at the UNGA shorty after the Indian leader.

Imran Khan is expected to deliver his speech shortly after PM Modi and it is speculated that he will rake up the Kashmir issue once again while PM Modi is expected to focus on peace and development in the region.

PM Modi is scheduled to speak fourth on Friday, while Pakistan PM Imran Khan is seventh in speaking schedule at UNGA. PM Modi is expected to strongly raise the issue of terror and also climate change. He is expected to focus on peace and development in the region. Khan is certain to rake up the Kashmir issue once again.

Pakistan To Raise Kashmir, India To Aim High

India has made it clear that it will not mention Kashmir at all during the time allotted to speak at the global forum as revocation of the Article 370 was an entirely "internal issue". 

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin has said that India will "soar high if Pakistan stoops low" by raking up the Kashmir issue at the UNGA.

This speech will be culmination of week-long dimplomatic tug-of-war between the two countries. Pakistan has been pushing the narrative that India is violating human rights in Kashmir and the world must put pressure on it. 

On the other hand, India has been pursuing an active diplomatic outreach, both before the UNGA and also during the ongoing session, to present its case before the world community, the reasons for revocation of special status, its plans for bringing development to Kashmir and Pakistan's role in actively stymieing any development through fostering terrorism across the border.

Qureshi Skips Jaishankar's Statement

A day before the all important speeches by the two prime ministers at UNGA, Pakistan tried to force some more drama with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi boycotting Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's opening statement at the SAARC meeting in New York.

Qureshi said that he didn't want to sit with the Indian minister as a sign of protest over the status of Kashmir.

Indo-Pak relations have reached a new level of hostile, after India revoked provisions of Article 370 stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status. India had repeatedlly said that the Kashmir issue is its "internal matter". However, Pakistan has been trying hard to "internationalise" the issue.