ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday welcomed the United Nations Security Council’s decision to address the issue of occupied Kashmir in its session, and said addressing the suffering of the Kashmiri people was the responsibility of the world body.

In a post on Twitter, the prime minister said, “I welcome the UNSC meeting to discuss the serious situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It is for the first time in over 50 yrs that the world’s highest diplomatic forum has taken up this issue.”

He added, there are 11 UNSC resolutions reiterating the Kashmiris right to self-determination.

“The UNSC meeting was a reaffirmation of these resolutions. Therefore addressing the suffering of the Kashmiri people and ensuring resolution of the dispute is the responsibility of this world body,” he added.

A day earlier, the UNSC met for the first time in over five decades to discuss the critical situation in Indian occupied Kashmir, urging parties to the dispute to refrain from taking any unilateral action.

The UNSC met behind closed doors at the request of China and Pakistan to discuss the Indian government’s recent decision to revoke the special status of Occupied Kashmir.

The council had taken up the issue of the critical situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir after more than 50 years since it was last discussed on the platform, effectively rejecting India’s stance that occupied Kashmir was an internal issue and not an internationally recognised dispute.