India's election to UNSC not to affect status of Kashmir dispute: Ambassador Akram.

India's election to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member will not in any way affect the status of Kashmir dispute, which remains firmly on the agenda of the 15-member body, and which must be resolved on the basis of its resolutions, Pakistan's Ambassador Munir Akram has said.

'India's election to the Security Council will not alter the fact that Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir is a flagrant violation of Security Council resolutions and the final disposition of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute will be decided in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people through a free and impartial plebiscite,' Ambassador Akram told reporter when asked for comment after the UN General Assembly elected new members of the Council on Wednesday.

Wearing facemasks and practicing physical distancing, ambassadors from UN Member States filed into the iconic but empty General Assembly Hall to cast their ballots during pre-determined time slots: an added layer of protection in the coronavirus era.

'Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all had to work under extraordinary conditions to overcome the myriad of challenges facing us,' the current General Assembly President, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, said ahead of the elections.

Besides India, Mexico, Norway and Ireland were elected for two-year terms, but the 193 UN member states must return on Thursday to continue voting to fill one more vacant seat after there was no clear winner.

Canada lost out to Ireland and Norway in a hotly contested election for two western seats that included Ireland enlisting the help of U2 singer Bono and taking UN ambassadors to a U2 concert and Canada taking envoys to a singer Celine Dion concert.

India and Mexico were unopposed, having been endorsed by by the Asian and Latin American groups respectively.

Kenya and Djibouti were competing for the African seat, but both fell short of the required two-thirds majority.

To ensure geographical representation, seats are allocated to regional groups.

The Security Council has five permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - and 10 members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms, with seats allocated to regional groups.

The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis - five for African and Asian States; one for the Eastern European States; two for the Latin American and Caribbean States; and two for Western European and other States.

The new members will start...