UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who assumed his functions as the world’s top diplomat this week, has offered to play role of an honest broker between Pakistan and India as the two South Asian nuclear powers face Kashmir exacerbation, diplomatic sources said.
Guterres made the offer after Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi gave an extensive briefing on the situation, especially the positioning of Indian special forces in occupied Kashmir’s Kupwara and Rajauri districts along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, indicating another escalating move.
Ambassador Lodhi, who met the secretary-general on Friday, said the new Indian deployments in recent weeks appeared to be “ominous.”
Dr Lodhi handed over a dossier on India’s interference and terrorism in Pakistan. A follow-up to the three dossiers submitted last October, it contains additional information and proof of Indian/RAW interference in Pakistan and involvement in terrorism particularly in Balochistan, FATA and Karachi, sources said.
Islamabad and New Delhi have been locked in an intense diplomatic standoff in recent months. Both countries accuse each other of meddling in their internal affairs and backing militant groups. The recent killings in Kashmir of civilian protesters at the hands of Indian forces heightened South Asian tensions. Besides, water issues have further aggravated the situation.
Sources revealed that Ambassador Lodhi told the UN chief that Pakistan had shown immense restraint in the face of India’s war-mongering and exercised caution in responding to unprovoked Indian cross-border shelling over the past few months, despite the dangerous situation building up on many fronts.
But, the diplomat also warned that Pakistan had the capability to “respond appropriately” and would not tolerate any threat to its territorial integrity.
Ambassador Lodhi hoped that the United Nations and the international community would, in the interest of maintaining peace and security, urge India to understand the dangers and futility of any military misadventure.
Guterres, who served as the high commissioner for refugees for 10 years before his appointment as the world body’s chief, appreciated Pakistan’s role in hosting millions of Afghan refugees for such a long period of time.
The UN chief praised professionalism of Pakistani peacekeepers serving in the UN Missions around the globe. Pakistan is among the top troop contributors to UN peacekeeping operations, with over 9,000 troops and police personnel deployed at the world’s hot spots.
The secretary-general also appreciated Pakistan’s effective counter-terrorism measures that have broken the back of terrorists.
The Pakistani envoy’s meeting takes place amid ongoing tensions in South Asia, where the Kashmir dispute and Indian reign of repression and violence against civilian protesters has pushed peace hopes to the back burner.
Islamabad has been urging the world capitals to stop India from provocations and look into gross human rights violations in the disputed territory under New Delhi’s occupation.
