Pakistan’s insidious attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue got a fitting rebuff from the UN which has made it clear that India and Pakistan should resolve all differences through dialogue and diplomacy.
With Pakistan upping the propaganda offensive and approaching the UN over escalating border tensions with India, the United Nations refused to bite the bait and reiterated the need for bilateral dialogue.
When asked to comment on Pakistan’s letter seeking UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s intervention and his viewpoint on the issue, his deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq alluded to a statement that was issued last week by Ban’s spokesperson in which the UN chief encouraged India and Pakistan to resolve all differences through dialogue and engage constructively to find a long-term solution for peace and stability in Kashmir.
The Secretary-General is “concerned about the recent escalation of violence along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan. He deplores the loss of lives and the displacement of civilians on both sides,” said the statement.
Pakistan had sent a letter, signed by Sartaj Aziz, adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on national security and foreign affairs, to the UN Secretary General seeking his intervention to resolve the ongoing border tensions. The letter blamed India for the escalation in violence along the disputed border which has resulted in casualties of civilians on both sides.
In the letter, Mr Aziz said said that Pakistan believes the UN has an important role to play in promoting the objective of peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue, including through his “good offices”.
“During the period of Oct 1-10, 2014, 20 ceasefire violations along the LoC were reported, resulting in 12 civilian deaths, 52 injured civilians and nine injured military personnel on the Pakistani side,” he said.
Aziz stressed that Pakistan has exercised utmost restraint and responsibility in responding to alleged provocations from the Indian side. “The Government of Pakistan sincerely hopes that better sense would prevail on the Indian side to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control,” the advisor said.
Besides incessant firing across the border, the two South Asian neighbours have been locked in a bitter verbal duel, which was reflected in the debate at the UN General Assembly last week. India said that it was a “matter of deep regret” that Pakistan violated the ceasefire, in which eight people were killed and several others wounded. Underlining that its armed forces are “fully ready” to respond to “provocation,” New Delhi placed the onus on creating a positive environment for normalisation of relations on Islamabad. India has reiterated many a time that The UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has “outlived its relevance” and has “no role to play whatsoever” on the issue.
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