UN chief hopes for 'meaningful' Pakistan-India dialogue

Antonio Guterres expresses willingness to facilitate future Indo-Pak peace talks

NEW YORK: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said late on Friday night that he hopes to soon see Islamabad and New Delhi "engage in a meaningful dialogue to resolve their disputes", Radio Pakistan reported.

The UN chief's comments came in response to a question by a Pakistani journalist at a press conference in New York.

Speaking about New Delhi's failure to positively respond to Islamabad's recent offers for talks, Guterres expressed willingness to facilitate any future Indo-Pak peace talks.

"I've been offering my good offices in relation to the dialogue between the two countries that, until now, had no conditions of success."

"The importance of India and Pakistan is such in international affairs, I hope that the two countries will be able to engage in a meaningful dialogue," said the UN secretary general.

On India's atrocities in Occupied Kashmir, Guterres said the UN had clearly done its job, as he referred to last year's damning UN report that calls for a ‘commission of inquiry’ to investigate the grave human rights violations in the occupied valley.

"The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has produced recently a very detailed report. So, the UN has clearly done its job in that regard."