UN chief urges India, Pakistan to come together to resolve Kashmir dispute

Antonio Guterres says his offices always available; warns there is no military solution to the decades-old dispute

UNITED NATIONS:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on nuclear-armed India and Pakistan on Thursday to “come together and seriously discuss their problems” stemming from the unresolved Kashmir dispute, saying his good offices are always available for mediation.

Responding to a question, the UN chief warned that there was no “military solution” to the decades-old conflict.

“It is clear when seeing Pakistan and India, any military confrontation between the two would be a disaster of unmitigated proportions for both countries and for the whole world,” he warned.

The UN chief said he believed it was absolutely essential for the situation to be de-escalated, especially along the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region.

He added, “I think it’s absolutely essential for the two countries to be able to come together and seriously discuss their problems.”

Furthermore, the UN chief observed that, “I think it’s essential that human rights are fully respected in all territories that you mentioned,” referring to the question in which a correspondent highlighted the continuing rights abuses in the Indian Occupied Kashmir.

He said he stood by his statement of August 8, 2019, that called for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute based on UN resolutions and the UN Charter.

“Now, things have not moved in the right direction, our good offices are always available, and we will insist within it on finding peaceful solutions for problems that have no military solution,” Guterres added.