Pakistan urges UN intervention in deescalating tensions with India along LoC

United Nations: Blaming India for closing the doors on any bilateral engagement, Pakistan told top United Nations (UN) officials on Wednesday that the world body has a “moral responsibility” to play its role in resolution of the Kashmir issue and help in de-escalating tensions. [caption id=“attachment_3136370” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] Special assistant on foreign affairs to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Syed Tariq Fatemi, met UN secretary general-designate Antonio Guterres, deputy secretary general Jan Eliasson and under secretary general for political affairs Jeffery Feltman during a day-long visit. According to a press release issued from Pakistan’s mission to the UN, Fatemi told the top UN leaders that Indian forces had stepped up ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC) and the working boundary in order to divert international attention from human rights atrocities, particularly the targeting of civilians in Kashmir. “India had also closed the doors on any bilateral engagement. In this situation, the UN has a moral responsibility to call for ending human rights violations in Kashmir, play its role in resolution of this long festering dispute and help in immediately de-escalating tensions,” he said, according to the release. Fatemi, accompanied by Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi, said Islamabad expected the UN to play its role in ensuring peace and stability in the South Asian region, especially in the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. He said that while Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reached out to India and made efforts to develop a mutually beneficial relationship, the efforts were not being reciprocated by New Delhi. Fatemi also briefed UN officials about alleged human rights violations by Indian forces on the Kashmiri people, saying efforts to quash a popular and indigenous uprising in Kashmir had led to the killing of over a hundred people and injuries to thousands. The release said that UN leadership called for resumption of dialogue and de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan, adding that Eliasson expressed concern at the regional situation and called for the lowering of tensions. On Afghanistan, Fatemi said Pakistan was ready to play its part for peace and stability in the country.