Pakistan's one-trick pony act on Kashmir doesn't resonate at UN: Syed Akbaruddin
United Nations, Sep 24: India will be focusing on a multilateral agenda at the high-level UN General Assembly (UNGA) session that begins on Tuesday and let Pakistan be a "one-trick pony" on Kashmir if it wants to, India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin has said.
The UN works best on the basis of multilateralism and "India's positions based on partnerships get a great resonance", he said on Sunday at a news conference while replying to a reporter's query about the possibility of Pakistan raising Kashmir at the UNGA.
He said: "If somebody else would like to be a one-trick pony, it is for them to regurgitate that act. We've handled this act many times in the past and are confident we'll do so again."
"Solo players in a multilateral context have neither a past nor a future" and get "no resonance in such matters", he added.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Islamabad would bring up Kashmir at the UNGA and give "unequivocal support to the cause", Radio Pakistan has reported.
Pakistan has been raising Kashmir at all UN forums, regardless of the topic of the meetings, but no other country has joined it in making it an issue or even talking about it.
During the 2017 UNGA meeting, Pakistani zeal produced a major embarrassment when its Permanent Representative Maleeha Lodhi was caught out trying to pass off a picture of a wounded Palestinian girl as a Kashmiri.
Akbaruddin said that even when India talks about terrorism, it does not treat it as just a bilateral issue but deals with it in the international context of havoc it wreaks around the world, for example the Boko Haram in Africa, and terrorist groups elsewhere.
Led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the UN session, India will focus on five topics: reformed multilateralism, climate change action, health, development and peacekeeping, he said.
Fresh from India's launch of the world's biggest public health insurance programme, Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda will be joining the Indian delegation to represent the country at a high-level event on Ending Tuberculosis and on Non-Communicable Diseases.
Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to address the UNGA on Saturday at the morning session scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Listed as the fifth speaker, she will likely speak around 7.15 p.m. (India time).
Qureshi's speech is set for Saturday's afternoon session, which will give him an opportunity to react to Sushma Swaraj's address.
If he raises issues relating to India, the nation would have a right of reply which could take place towards the end of that session or Monday's session.
Customarily a junior diplomat exercises the right of reply at the UNGA high-level meeting.
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Gold declines Rs 1,100 to Rs 1.64 lakh/10g; silver slips to Rs 2.71 lakh/kg
New Delhi (PTI): Gold prices declined Rs 1,100 to Rs 1.64 lakh per 10 grams in the national capital on Friday as traders booked profits at elevated levels for the second straight session, while silver also slipped to Rs 2.71 lakh per kilogram.
According to the All India Sarafa Association, the yellow metal of 99.9 per cent purity depreciated Rs 1,100, or nearly 1 per cent, to Rs 1,64,100 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes).
Silver also fell Rs 600 to Rs 2,71,700 per kg (inclusive of all taxes) in the bullion market.
Analysts said traders locked in gains after the recent sharp rally in precious metal prices, even as global trends remained mixed.
"After opening with a gap up earlier in the week, both gold and silver gradually declined this week as a stronger US dollar and rising Treasury yields, along with reduced expectations for interest rate cuts by Federal Reserve, outweighed safe-haven demand stemming from the escalating Middle East conflict," Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst - Commodities at HDFC Securities, said.
He added that investors continued to exit gold-backed exchange traded funds (ETFs) this week, indicating softer investment demand.
"ETFs reduced their gold holdings by 93,479 troy ounces in the latest session, marking the fourth consecutive day of outflows -- the longest losing streak since February 6," Gandhi said.
However, in the international markets, bullion prices were trading higher on renewed safe-haven demand, with spot gold gaining USD 14.70, or 0.29 per cent, to USD 5,095.81 per ounce, while silver increasing 1.4 per cent to USD 83.40 per ounce.
Traders said escalating tensions in the Middle East continued to support precious metals, though profit-booking limited gains in the domestic markets.
"Gold and silver prices experienced notable fluctuations on Friday, driven primarily by ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and robust safe-haven buying," Gaurav Garg, Research Analyst at Lemonn Markets Desk, said.
These precious metals are gaining traction as investors seek refuge amid market volatility and rising crude oil prices, which surged to over USD 80 per barrel following the closure of Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route, raising concerns about supply disruptions.
"The US stock market reacted negatively, with major indices like the Dow Jones and S&P 500 witnessing significant declines, further fuelling interest in gold and silver," Garg added.
Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst, Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said investors are closely monitoring crucial macroeconomic indicators, including the unemployment rate and non-farm payrolls numbers scheduled to be released later in the day.
