ISLAMABAD, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday welcomed the meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to discuss Kashmir issue.

The Security Council on Friday held an informal consultation on India-Pakistan question and listened to the briefings given by the UN Secretariat on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the work of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).

The Council members said they are deeply concerned about the current situation and hope that the relevant parties will exercise restraint and not take unilateral action that will escalate tensions. They called on the two sides to properly resolve the issue through dialogue.

"It is for the first time in over 50 years that the world's highest diplomatic forum has taken up this issue. There are 11 UNSC resolutions reiterating the Kashmiris right to self-determination," the Pakistani prime minister wrote on Twitter.

Pakistan had called for the UN meeting to discuss the situation in Kashmir following the Indian government's decision on Aug. 5 to revoke the special status of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

After India's decision, Pakistan in reaction downgraded its diplomatic ties and suspended trade relations and train service with India.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi presided over a meeting of a special committee of political parties on Saturday to discuss a joint strategy in the prevailing situation following the Indian government's decision, the foreign office said.

Afterwards, Qureshi told media that the government and the opposition parties in Pakistan are on same page on Kashmir issue.