UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the resolution of Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan through talks when Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif met him on Wednesday, according to a UN statement.
“The Secretary-General stressed the need for Pakistan and India to address their outstanding issues, including Kashmir, through dialogue in the interest of both countries and the region as a whole,” the statement said after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s meeting with the UN chief on the margins of the 71st session of the General Assembly.
“The Secretary-General expressed appreciation to Pakistan for its hosting of one of the largest groups of refugees for decades,” the statement said, referring to the millions of Afghan refugees in the country.
Meanwhile, a press release issued by the Pakistan mission to the UN said that during the meeting Nawaz Sharif handed over a dossier of the Indian state atrocities on the innocent Kashmiris to the UN secretary-general.
The prime minister showed to the secretary-general pictures of the innocent and defenceless people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, who have suffered brutal use of force and atrocities at the state level, it said.
“The UN secretary-general expressed his shock while seeing the pictures of the victims of pellets being used by Indian occupying forces,” according to the press release.
The prime minister, it said, thanked Ban for his “strong and supportive statements” on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
He apprised the secretary-general of the gross human rights violations being committed by India that have resulted in over 100 deaths and injured thousands more, during the last 74 days in the
Indian occupied Kashmir. “The indiscriminate use of pellet guns, which have blinded hundreds including women and children, is reflective of the inhuman and barbaric mindset of the Indian security forces.”
The prime minister also apprised Ban Ki Moon of the plight of the innocent Kashmiri people, who have been victims of Indian brutalities that continue unabated. India also continues to resort to repressive measures such as curfews, incarceration of Kashmiri leaders and denial of medical treatment to the injured, especially those blinded and poisoned by pellet gunfire.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has addressed letters to the leadership of five permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as the UN chief to draw attention to the Kashmir situation and to call upon India to immediately end violence in the valley.
The prime minister also reiterated the imperative of an independent inquiry into the extra-judicial killings and a UN fact-finding mission to investigate the situation in occupied Kashmir.
He emphasized that India must be asked to abide by UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir.
The secretary-general praised Pakistan for its prominent and active role at the United Nations and its contribution for peace and security in the world, the press release added.
