Says, resolve it through dialogue
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today rejected Pakistan’s repeated pleas to the UN to resolve the Kashmir dispute. Bani Ki Moon told Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that Pakistan and India should address their outstanding issues, including Kashmir, through dialogue. Ban met with Sharif in New York yesterday on the sidelines of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly.
His remarks came as Sharif handed over to him a dossier about alleged human rights violations by Indian forces in Kashmir. UN spokesperson said, Secretary-General stressed the need for Pakistan and India to address their outstanding issues, including Kashmir, through dialogue, saying it is in the interest of both countries and the region as a whole.
Sharif has been mounting massive efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue. However, his repeated calls to the UN to help resolve the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan appear to be gaining no traction as Ban made no reference to Kashmir and the situation in the Valley in his final speech to the UNGA as UN Chief.
Ban’s office has earlier repeatedly said that the UN Chief’s good offices are available on helping resolve the Kashmir dispute only if both India and Pakistan request for it, a clear message that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral one between the two nations and should be solved by them only.