Voicing concern over deteriorating situation in the Indian occupied Kashmir following New Delhi’s annexation of the disputed territory, UN Secretary General has said the world body’s position on the settlement of dispute is governed by its Charter and “applicable Security Council resolutions.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the world’s top diplomat, also counseled against any steps that may affect the status of Jammu and Kahsmir
“The Secretary-General calls on all parties to refrain from taking steps that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir,” his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement he read out at the regular noon briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.
Gutteres’ statement follows his rather weak earlier call for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan questioned the world community over its rather muted response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s revocation of the special status of Kashmir, a step which will change demography of the disputed territory and subject Kashmiris to the rule of the majority in New Delhi.
On Wednesday, Pakistani Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi met with the Secretary-General’s Chef de Cabinet Maria Louisa Ribeiro Viotti.
She underscored the need for the UN chief to weigh in with a demand that India comply with UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan, which controls part of Kashmir, says only a UN-supervised plebiscite can determine the wishes of the Kashmiri people and the diplomat said Pakistan demands that the United Nations prohibit any alteration in the status of the disputed state until its final settlement.
In his statement, the UN chief also recalled the 1972 Simla Agreement which states that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir is to be settled by peaceful means, “in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.”
“The Secretary-General is also concerned over reports of restrictions on the Indian-side of Kashmir, which could exacerbate the human rights situation in the region,” the statement said, obviously referring to the India’s complete lockdown of Kashmir with communications cut and schools closed.
The UN spokesman, Dujarric, responding to a series of questions, said “the Secretary General has been following the situation in Jammu and Kashmir with concern and makes an appeal for maximum restraint.”
The UN has been conveying its position to permanent missions of India and Pakistan in New York.
The spokesman confirmed that Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s letter has been received and circulated as a UNSC documents, and was requested.
When questioned about Islamabad’s proposal on appointment of a Special Representative on Kashmir, the spokesman said the letter is being studied and he had no announcement to make at this stage.
Meanwhile, tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors escalated Thursday with suspension of a train link and Pakistan’s downgrading of ties.
